Building Destruction
by Lily Kalanoa
Summary: Companion piece to 'Reputation'. Can be read alone. Iruka's past is dark and sordid and now that he has escaped the game, his memories aren't all that haunt him. WARNINGS INSIDE PLEASE READ THEM AND LEAVE ME ALONE IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT
1. Age 12 A Happy Graduation

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 12 -o-o-o-

Iruka curled into himself, glowering at the floor. The rest of his class had rushed out of the classroom in a record eight point three seconds, already starting the cheering and partying required after graduation, but Iruka lingered, staring numbly at the brand new hitai-ate in his hands. Slowly a shadow crossed the floor and Iruka looked up.

"Shouldn't you be out there with the others? I'm pretty sure I saw Anko sneaking a crate of beer towards Asuma's. He and Kurenai are throwing a party for the new grads that I'm not supposed to know about; you've heard right?" Iruka nodded, but didn't move. Slowly his sensei knelt, coming closer to the small brunette. "So why are you still in here?"

"I like it here. I've always liked it here."

The older man sat, leaning his back against the same wall Iruka was propped against. "Yes, but everyone must leave the academy at some point. Even me. Even you."

"Mizuki's been smuggling sake for the past week. He'll be upset if I don't show up and do my part."

The sensei laughed, looking at his pupil for a moment. "Is that why you're really here? You're avoiding Mizuki?"

Iruka's eyes snapped up, giving away the truth in an instant. "What? No! Mizuki's my friend, why would I . . ." He trailed off under the man's knowing smile.

"You two have been all but inseparable for quite a while. But you've been avoiding him for almost a month. Stealing glances, blushing after he makes some joke-"

"It's not like that, Sensei! I-"

"Iruka." The teenager dropped into instant silence, blushing slightly. "Iruka, it's pretty obvious you want to talk to him about how you feel, why don't you go do it?"

Young Iruka looked up at his Sensei again. It was true, of course; he'd been wanting to talk to Mizuki for weeks. Had been obsessing over the other boy's feelings and possible reactions. Wondering just what would happen if Mizuki accepted Iruka's offer of more-than-friendship . . . the blood rushed to his face again, pinkening his cheeks as his teenage mind took that to it's obvious conclusion.

Iruka looked up at his Sensei as the older man rested one hand on his shoulder with a smile. "Either way, this isn't where you should be right now. Get up and race out of here with your fellows. Go help them trash Asuma's apartment and make that boy regret hosting you. Partake of the alcohol I know nothing about." Iruka broke into a smile, climbing to his feet and helping the older man stand as well. "As your teacher I can give you one last piece of advice today. If you talk to your friend, the worst he could do is say no and you'll hurt for a little while. If you stay silent and spend your life wondering what if, you will hurt for quite a bit longer."

"Thank you, Sensei. I'll see you later." Iruka steered himself toward the door, hoping Asuma's party would be a good distraction, whether he talked to Mizuki or not.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Iruka?"

The newly made genin nodded at Kurenai absently, making sure he had everything he needed. "You want your party to be a hit, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought that's what the sake was for."

Iruka just smirked again. "Hey, I got here late, I gotta make an entrance. Trust me, all right?" Iruka's hands flew through the seals for a transformation and once the smoke cleared he smiled. "Well?"

"Damn, man. I'm glad you told me about this ahead of time. You look just like the third; Asuma's gonna shit himself!" The brunette grabbed the prepared sake bottle in one hand and dropped her eyes, looking as though she were in serious trouble.

Iruka grabbed her upper arm, scowling angrily himself. Together, the two stalked quickly from the side alley they'd hidden themselves in and around to the front door of Asuma's apartment. Using his free hand, he opened the door, slamming it into the wall behind it. Everyone looked up at the violent entrance and froze, seeing what they believed to be their Hokage, young Chunin held prisoner. Lea, a straight 'A' student through her school days, gave a brief scream, dropping the large can of Kirin beer she'd been about to drink from. Another two students hastily hid similar cans behind their backs while another wisely ducked into the kitchen. Asuma gave a most undignified 'eep', dropping both the cigarette from his mouth and the lighter he'd been using to light it.

Iruka struggled to keep up the angry scowl. He hadn't even spoken yet! Anger thrummed from him as he pounded towards the unsuspecting host of the party. He bent to the ground quickly, retrieving the unlit cig, and stood again, holding it inches from the boy's face. "The legal smoking age is sixteen," the boy paled considerably. Iruka turned to the girl he still held captive. "And the legal drinking age is twenty!" He grabbed the bottle – an expensive and _big_ bottle that had been carefully emptied and filled with water – and upended it to the shouts and groans of many of the celebrators. "And you!"

Iruka spun on Mizuki, who had been slowly creeping towards the door. His friend had known about the prank ahead of time and was valiantly acting out his role. He stayed crouched on the ground, but spun back to Iruka. "Hokage-sama, I wasn't doing anything! You need to relax."

The various gathered genin and the few chunin turned their terrified gazes from the 'Hokage' to look at Mizuki, completely stunned. Iruka stalked towards the boy slowly. "What was that?"

Mizuki gulped, completely looking the terrified young man. "Well, I just meant-"

"You know what?" Iruka suddenly looked up brightly. "You might be right." There were several distinct thuds as more than one child's knees gave out. "But if you're going to party, you've got to do it right." Mizuki smiled, opening the door and hauling in the first of several crates that had been carefully placed just outside. Iruka turned back towards Asuma, pulling out a brand new pack of cigarettes. He lobbed the small package at the man, enjoying the way his stunned mind barely reacted enough for him to catch it, before letting the jutsu drop.

Mizuki pulled in the rest of the crates before slapping Iruka firmly on the back in congratulations. The rest of the party was slowly coming out of their shock, laughing and hooting at the "unbe-fucking-lievably mean-ass prank." Anko all but sprinted to the kitchen, retrieving a shot glass, then back to the crates of sake and filled said glass. It was only the first of several pushed into Iruka's hands.

Hours later, as the party was finally winding down, it took Mizuki both hands to keep the young prankster on his feet. He steered the boy towards the door, managing three steps before tripping over their combined feet. The two lay there for a moment, giggling madly before Iruka made a valiant effort to get up. Once the futile attempt was out of his system, he looked at his friend, mostly sandwiched beneath him. Quickly he lowered his head, kissing the other boy messily. After a moment, he shifted, burying his forehead against the other's shoulder. "Sorry," he muttered.

Mizuki shifted, wrapping his arms around the weight atop him. "Iruka, you're drunk."

"Yes."

"Uh, well, you shouldn't go making decisions like this when drunk."

Iruka shifted quickly, first biting, then licking his friend's throat. "Why not?"

Mizuki shuddered. "Um, gimme a second, I'm trying to remember."

"Mizuki-kun." The boy fell silent. "Can we go back to your place? I think Anko's staring at us."

Sure enough, the young kunoichi was watching the two boys on the floor. When Mizuki twisted around to glare at her, she laughed and stood. "Our little 'Ruka is so cute when he's completely smashed. Here, I'll help you get him home, you've had a few yourself."

Mizuki struggled to his feet as the scarred teen was hauled off of him. "Hey, I'm holdin' mine better'en he is." Anko just giggled, helping the boys home. That is, to Mizuki's house; Iruka refused to release his hold on his friend's arm.

-o-o-o-o-o-

When Iruka woke the next morning, he curled tightly into a ball, clutching at his head. Mizuki shifted behind him and began to rub his back. "How you feelin'?"

Groan. "Don't-" his voice stuttered and he curled tighter. "No talking. Too loud."

Mizuki laughed, shifting out of bed and heading towards his bathroom. "I'll get you something for that headache." After a moment, he reappeared, popping two pills himself. "Hey 'Ruka."

"Ah?"

"You've never been drunk before, right?"

"Ah."

"What do you remember from last night?"

Iruka's hands dropped and he stared blindly in front of him. His eyes darkened slightly as he replayed the night's events. "That depends, did I insult you? Did I . . ."

Mizuki crossed to the bed, holding out the blessed pain relief. "Well, I don't regret anything that happened. I'd be willing to forget, though, if you-"

"No, I don't regret anything!" Iruka sat bolt upright, eager to deny the allegation. He quickly slouched back down, once again cradling his skull and groaning. After a minute – and quickly downed aspirin – he spoke into the bed sheets. "It's all kinda fuzzy after the drinking game with Asuma, but I'm pretty sure I remember everything. I've wanted to . . . with you . . . couple weeks now . . ." The boy's ability to make sense dwindled as his blush deepened to a scarlet.

Mizuki lowered himself onto the mattress. "If that's really how you feel, maybe we could try again when you're feeling better. Unless that stuff knocks you out, of course." Iruka didn't move for a minute. Finally he looked up at his friend . . . lover . . . and nodded. It sounded like a great idea, if only the room would stop pulsing with the pain in his head.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Iruka looked blankly at the darkened ceiling above him. He felt blindly in the bed beside him, fingers brushing a warm arm. Slowly he turned onto his side, seeking out the masked profile there behind him. He reached up, reverently tracing the covered jaw line. His hand trailed down the man's arm, coming to rest on one bare bicep. Shifting again, he leaned into the shoulder, reveling the warmth against his forehead.

"Ka-kun?"

The jounin shifted, smoothly turning and pulling his free arm up and over the teacher beside him. "You're supposed to think I'm still asleep, you know."

Iruka just buried his head further into the man's arm. He'd learned weeks ago that whenever he woke up, Kakashi was awake as well, even when he pretended not to be. There had been less than a half dozen times Iruka had managed to wake up and not disturb the man. It was comforting in a way, to know they were so well attuned. To know that Kakashi was attached enough to him to wake at almost the slightest movement, and cared enough most of the time to feign sleep.

Mizuki had never done that. On the rare occasions they'd spent the whole night together, he would wake and leave without so much as a look at Iruka. The teacher shivered, again tightening his hold. Kakashi's hand began to stroke the nape of the brunette's neck, playing with the fine hairs there. The question came as he knew it would; Kakashi always asked, even though he'd not once gotten an answer in the four months they'd been officially dating. "You want to talk about it?"

Iruka shook his head – no more than a vague rubbing of his forehead across the copy nin's shoulder. His sensei had been a great man, but he had been wrong. Talking to Mizuki all those years ago had caused quite a bit more pain than keeping his silence ever could have. Still, in a twisted way, it had led to this. To Kakashi wrapped around him, strong fingers chasing away the nightmares. To a gentle kiss nuzzled into the top of his head, the breeze flowing softly through the open window in the room. It was twisted and wrong, but Iruka had Mizuki to thank for it all.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Iru-chan."

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N: **So there you have it, the truth behind the start of poor Iruka's troubles. I'm experimenting with this style – telling large bits of the past in psuedo flashback form. I hope it's not confusing and that it's good for you all to read. Through the story you will learn about several of the major, uh, "incidents" in Iruka's past including when he was 'given' to Itsuo and when it was made a public game. I also want to delve into his encounters with Rinshi and Genma. The 'present-time' portions will also explore some of the troubles he and Kakashi have around the village including one very interesting confrontation with the Hyuga clan. I have no idea how long this will be, but I hope you do like it. Particularly followers who have been reading "Reputation". Please let me know if you like this, or hate it – or can think of a better title? I'm not really satisfied with this one, but it has the right feel. Anyway, Merry X-mas and all those other holidays, too. Buddha be with you!


	2. Age 13 But Then Things Changed

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** First and foremost, I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I wanted to put a 'present time' section at the end, just like chapter 1. Trouble is, I spent two hours writing this really great scene, only to realise that I had placed it after chapter three. Sigh. Well, that just means next chapter will be even better, and noticably longer. Anyway, on to other things. As you'll notice, this story is significantly darker that 'Reputation', at least the scenes set in the past. Then again, that's rather obvious, ne? I agree with anon – he said he liked the way it started, but not that it happened so young. I must agree, pedaphilia is one of my only squicks. But given the nature of this story, it's really unavoidable. Several of you like the title, so I guess it came across better than I hoped, thanks! It's great to see some return names, and possibly even better to see some thus-far unknown reviewers! Hello Alana and Wynn, and hello again, H. Cow. I'm your first fav author? That is . . . so . . . AWESOME! DA!! I love you all and I hope you enjoy this story as much as everone seems to have enjoyed Reputation.

-o-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-Iruka, age 13 -o-o-o-

"Mizuki?"

The pale haired boy looked at his friend, dressing slowly beside the window. "Yeah, 'Ruka?"

"Mizuki, can we talk? About this, I mean?"

Mizuki buttoned his pants and plopped into a chair, ignoring his shirtless state, and nodded for Iruka to continue.

The scarred teen lowered his eyes, focusing on his shirt as he buttoned it. "I . . ." he hesitated, fingers completely stilling in their actions. For close to a minute he stood there in complete silence. "I want to stop," he finaly whispered.

Mizuki didn't move, letting the silence hang between them. The weight of it seemed to crush Iruka, making him smaller, making him disappear further into the shadows. Finally Mizuki stood, crossing the distance between them. "Why?"

Iruka stepped back, away from the other teen. "I just . . . do. It was fun, but . . ."

"But you like Aoriko, I've seen the way you gaze at her." Iruka's face stayed set, but the truth reflected across his eyes. Mizuki just crossed his arms, turning his back on the boy. "Goodnight, Iruka."

"Mizuki, don't do this. I want to talk about it!" He moved forward, reaching for one pale shoulder. "Mizuki -"

"Goodnight."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Aoriko was a quiet girl. She had small glasses and kept her hair pulled back to keep it out of her face. She studied hard, but usualy managed only average grades in her classes. After graduation, she had shown an interest in animals and spent a lot of time hanging out with the Inuzuka's in their wild tents with their gigantic dogs. The contrast in her personality is what first attracted Iruka to the girl.

At the moment she stood in quiet repose, lost in thought and staring at the trees in front of her. Iruka stood behind her, doing his best to open his mouth and make words come out. Finaly he managed a strange squeak of a noise and Aoriko jumped, turning to look at the boy behind her. Iruka blushed, offering a small bow and a feeble, "Hey."

"Hey." Her voice twinkled as she spoke, as if she were on the brink of laughing with every syllable. "Iruka, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh," Iruka cursed himself, wondering why he had to blush in front of this beautiful creature. He cleared his throat, trying again. "I came here to see you. I, uh, I've seen you looking at these trees before."

Aoriko turned fully to Iruka, smiling at him. "Have you been following me?"

Iruka ducked his chin, smiling at the slight jab. "And if I have?" The girl giggled and Iruka looked up to meet her eyes again. "Look, Aoriko, I think you're really pretty. I wanted to ask . . ." Iruka hesitated as he felt a presence approaching them. It was oddly familiar while at the same time foreboding. "I wanted to ask you . . ."

"Iruka!" Slim, strong arms darted in, wrapping around the teen in a heartbeat. One hand cupped his jaw, turning his face to one side. Iruka's eyes widened a second before Mizuki descended on his lips, kissing him harshly. He gasped and the pale boy deepened the kiss, tongue intruding the cavern of his mouth. After a moment he pulled away, smirking at the shocked boy. "I'll really miss our nights together, 'Ruka." He turned to Aoriko, smile only growing. He nodded quickly and left without another word.

Aoriko blinked, looking after the retreating boy for a moment. Iruka looked at her, mouth still slightly agape. "Aori-"

"Don't, Iruka. I guess you're a pretty nice guy, but . . . I don't swing like that. Sorry." The music had left her voice, Iruka noticed. The way she looked at him had changed. Iruka's face darkened. After a moment he nodded, turning to leave the girl.

It took only twenty minutes to find Mizuki. By then, Iruka's shock had worn off, fading into a quiet anger, simmering just beneath the surface. Mizuki was waiting in front of Iruka's apartment building, leaning back against the low garden wall in front of the building. Iruka stalked towards him as he darted into the building. He growled, following as Mizuki led him into his own apartment and slammed the door behind him, glaring death at the other genin. "Mizuki. What. The. Hell."

"What, you didn't like my goodbye present?"

"Damnit, Mizuki! You did that on purpose! You knew she'd react like that, didn't you?"

The pale boy smirked, stepping closer to Iruka. The scarred teen didn't give up any ground. "I suspected. Now tell me, do you really want to be dating someone so narrow minded?" He reached up, brushing his fingers along the boy's arm.

Iruka jerked out of reach. "I think it's for me to decide one way or the other! Don't touch me!" Mizuki stepped closer, one hand tangling in the other's shirt. Iruka shoved it angrily away. "We broke up, Mizuki!"

This, oddly enough, sent Mizuki into a fit of giggles. "No, Iruka. _You_ broke up. You're the one who believed this was a relationship," he growled, undoing Iruka's shirt in a flash.

Iruka jerked back, trying to escape those hands, but Mizuki stayed right there, persistant. The last of the buttons popped free under the other's tugging, baring Iruka's chest to the teen. The brunette twisted angrily. "Get off of me. This isn't just sex-"

"This has always been just sex, Iruka. Stop fooling yourself about it." He caught Iruka's fist and grappled the boy to the ground.

Iruka gasped as his pants were tugged down. He kicked out, but his legs were caught in the fabric, trapping him. With Mizuki's long fingers wrapping around his wrists, Iruka couldn't get leverage on the other boy. He grit his teeth around curses as he was forced onto his stomach, one arm twisted painfully behind his back. The other hand was released and Iruka twisted, swinging back at the other.

Mizuki shifted his weight and Iruka had to use his free hand to keep his head from cracking against the floor. He gasped again, giving a cry as Mizuki pushed one finger into him with no warning. One gave way to two as tears began to stream down Iruka's cheeks. He managed a feeble 'stop' that was ignored moments before Mizuki removed his hand, pushing forward without hesitation.

Iruka screamed outright, not prepared for the intrusion. Mizuki pulled on his arm, dragging another cry from him as the move wrenched his shoulder. The other hand tangled in the brown hair, pulling savagely there, too. Iruka's whimpers played counterpoint to the grunts above him.

After several minutes, Mizuki came, stilling and pulling roughly wherever his hands had purchase. Muscles relaxed and Mizuki settled his weight onto the weeping boy under him. His hands traced lines to Iruka's shoulders, swiftly turning the boy over. Before he could react, Mizuki had his arms pinned again, smiling coldly into his face. Slowly he shifted, lowering his mouth to the boy's throat. "This is what it's about, Iruka," he murmered against the sensitive skin. He bit down, marking the boy and finishing the thought without words. This was about ownership.

Rather than pulling away, Mizuki stayed where he was, pinning Iruka with his body and freeing one hand. His fingers twisted, brushing lightly along the boy's ribs. "What are you going to do now, 'Ruka? Are you going to cry to the jounin? Go back to Sensei?" The tanned boy shuddered, but twisted again, trying to dislodge the genin on top of him. Mizuki's fingers curled, finding purchase in his vulnerable side. Iruka gasped, stilling at the silent threat. Suddenly he was painfully aware of just how vulnerable he was. There were at least a dozen ways he could be killed or crippled from this position before he could do anything to stop it. More tears slipped down his cheeks.

Mizuki just purred into his ear. "Did you know only chuunin can teach at the academy?" Iruka shivered, giving no other reply. He'd told Mizuki about his ambition the second time they'd been together. To think that he would use the information against him like this . . . Mizuki's hand caught up Iruka's left hand, twisting painfully. "Do you think you could pass the chuunin exam without your fingers? You couldn't even perform a simple jutsu, let alone the type that would be required. So tell me," his hand twisted further, forcing another wimper from him. "Are you going to keep quiet about this?" Iruka was silent, not looking at the boy above him. Mizuki growled, forcing his chin up and staring into his eyes. "Yes or no, Iruka."

After another moment, Iruka nodded, averting his eyes again. With a cruel smile and a deceptively gentle pat to his cheek, Mizuki finaly released him. Iruka watched as the boy straightened his clothes, trying to gain some perspective on what had just happened to him. Mizuki was still fully dressed, dissheveled pants the only sign of what he'd done. Dimly Iruka looked to where his shirt had been discarded several feet away. It was ruined. As Mizuki smoothed his hair back, Iruka rolled to his side, watching him go to the door. "Goodnight, Iruka," he sneered, walking calmly into the hallway. Iruka curled in on him self, shivering violently. More and more tears streamed down his face in silence. He didn't move for hours.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N:** Yes, well, I already appologised for such a short chappie. Sigh, and so depressing, too. Ah, I nearly forgot to note, Iruka's age has gone up a whole year, but really only a few months passed between Iruka's drunken graduation and this chapter. In Japan, graduation is roughly May-ish (I think) and Iruka's birthday is May 26, so he turned 13 almost immediately thereafter. Also, I'm largely guessing on ages when Iruka does stuff – as you'll see in later chapters. I'm fairly certain the manga hasn't given much Iruka backstory beyond the stuff in anime episode 145-ish, but if I screw something up that someone out there knows, let me know and I can adjust it. But that stuff won't come up 'til next chapter and beyond. I'll be trying to post Mondays and Fridays still, so look for chapter 3 on the first day of the new year! Happy New Year to you all. Omedeto!


	3. Age 18 Unwilling Gift

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** Hello all. Sigh, such a depressing chapter last time, ne? This one's pretty bad, too, but some really good 'present time' KakaIru stuff. It's not done yet, but next chapter should be mostly present time and you'll begin to see the actual plot of this story. Yes, it's true, this story has actual plot, not just stories about the past. Once again good to see those names – old and new. I'm aware that ffnet's alerts are super messed up right now, so special thanks to all of you who actually check on me regularly! I agree with most of you about wanting to kill Mizuki – evil bastard – sadly, I'm trying to stay canon, so I can't _do_ anything to him! Sigh. All right then, enough rambling, on with the story. A good (if angst-ridden) start to the new year. A very happy year of the Boar to you all!

-o-o-o-o-o-

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 18 -o-o-o-

Iruka looked over the schoolyard quietly. It was currently empty save a few stragglers and one bedraggled looking teacher. The man took a long sip from a mug that contained something steaming and most likely spiked. The added moisture made the man's breath fog out in an even bigger cloud at his next exhale. Iruka registered a presence slide up beside him, but didn't turn. A puff of smoke – not frozen breath, smoke – revealed the owner of the voice as the new arrival spoke. "You kinda feel bad for him, huh?"

"I dunno, Asuma. Teacher's life doesn't seem so bad." Iruka turned to look at the older man, smiling genially. "I know why I'm out in the freezing cold, what are you doing here?"

"Wondering what you're doing out in the freezing cold, mostly. I was looking for you in all the normal places; home, missions desk, any place above freezing temperature. Instead I find you here, staring at a miserable man being paid far too little to watch small, frightful children."

Iruka quirked an eyebrow, cutting through the useless information and focusing on the issue at hand. "Why were you looking for me?"

Asuma paused, taking a drag from his cig. "Well, I was wondering which test you were going to be taking next month. Though, I guess since you're here that answers the question for me."

Both of Iruka's eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Asuma sighed, taking one last drag and dropping the white stick onto the ground. "The tests. Next month, they're testing for new teachers. That's also when the next jounin test is scheduled."

"Jounin test? But I'm not-"

"That's why I was looking for you. Kurenai brought up the fact that you could probably test. I went to the Hokage and he agreed that if you wanted to test, you could." Asuma glanced over the small playground. The children had left now and the dejected teacher was shuffling back towards the building and the blessed heating it offered. "Course, you'll have to pick one or the other, so the question isn't really if you're going to test for jounin but which test you're going to take."

Iruka could feel another presence approaching from behind him. This one he recognised without any clue and his eyes fell slightly. "You really think I could test for jounin?"

Asuma smiled widely. "I remember some of the stuff you pulled in your academy days! It's a wonder you didn't graduate straight to chunin, of course you're ready to test up again. So? Should I put in your name?"

Iruka shifted uneasily from foot to foot. If he tested for jounin – if he actualy made it – it would put him a level above Mizuki. The pale boy drew within arms reach and leaned silently against the schoolyard fence behind Iruka. For a long minute, Iruka thought about everything that would mean. He would be out of reach, in a way; immune to the chunin. But the schoolyard would also be out of his reach. Jounin didn't teach at the academy. "No, Asuma. I don't think I'll test for jounin. I probably couldn't make it anyway."

The older man shrugged. "Not sure I agree with that last bit, but it's up to you. Good luck on the sensei exam; you're testing too, aren't you Mizuki?"

Iruka didn't turn to look at the other chunin, but he could practically feel him nod. With a nod of his own, Asuma turned to go, pulling another cigarette out of his vest, leaving Iruka alone with the pale man beside him. "You thinking about testing for jounin, 'Ruka?"

Iruka finaly turned, smiling tightly at the other. "Asuma was just telling me I'd been invited to test. I'm still set on becoming a teacher, of course. But, have you been asked?" Iruka focused on keeping his eyes blank as he muttered the little barb. He wanted Mizuki to take it for what it was – a quiet warning – without reading the torrent of emotions playing through him.

His heart felt tight as Mizuki kept his expression equally blank, impossible to read. After a moment, his eyes narrowed and he leaned closer to the boy. "No, Iruka, I havn't been invited. Do you have something else you'd like to say?" His voice was quiet, rolling across the scarred man like thunder.

Iruka flinched, pulling away from the nearness. "No, Mizuki. Did you come here for a reason?"

"Just to wish you luck, 'Ruka. I'm leaving on a mission and I probably won't see you again until the test." Iruka's eyes lit up and he cursed the reaction. Mizuki's eyes just narrowed a little more. "I'll see you then."

Iruka nodded, still smiling tightly. "Be careful, Mizuki. Take care of yourself and your team."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka was walking on cloud nine. He floated down the street, beaming to everyone he passed. Most had no idea what had booyed the man's mood so high, but those that did rushed in to give their congratulations. Hayate smiled even as he coughed slightly. "I hear you made it, Iruka. Congratulations."

Iruka did his very best to blind the man with his smile. "Thanks, I can't wait to start teaching!"

A jounin Iruka didn't know but certainly knew of caught him up in a bone crushing hug. "Your Youthful Glow overwhelms the whole village! You will be a wonderful addition to the academy, leading our children into their Beautiful Springtime of Life!"

Iruka tried unsuccessfuly to free himself before resigning to let the enthusiastic man drag him along the road a ways. When he was finally released, Iruka wsa still beaming, rubbing the faint bruises forming on his arms. Even potential crush trauma at the hands of one of the strangest villagers in all of Konoha couldn't dampen his move.

Iruka reached his apartment shortly after that, still smiling so wide it forced his eyes partly closed. He unlocked the door, entering in a pointless flourish to help proclain his joy.

Mizuki was waiting for him.

Nothing could bring Iruka down from his personal heaven. Nothing except the dark look on the other chunin's face. His smile faded, though it didn't disappear. His heart was still raicing, riding the adrenaline high he'd gotten from seeing his name on the list of newly accepted teachers. Another un-named force sent his heart racing even faster as Mizuki straightened and began walking towards him.

"I didn't make it, Iruka."

The young teacher swallowed thickly, licking suddenly dry lips. "I'm sorry Mizuki. You'll be able to test again next-"

Mizuki closed the last few feet in a heartbeat, leaning close to the teacher and pinning him to the closed door behind him. Iruka's mind raced, replaying the blinding move in his mind. He hadn't closed the door, Mizuki had closed and locked it as he closed the distance. "Iruka . . ."

The man shivered as long fingers trailed down his arms. He could hardly form a sentence through the quiet panic invading his brain. "Mizuki, I - I'm a teacher. I can't-"

Mizuki silenced the boy again with a gentle caress across his stomach, fingers dipping dangerously low. "I didn't make it . . ." he repeated, ducking his head towards the new teacher's neck.

Iruka's eyes fell shut, fine muscles quivering as he struggled for control. This was all right, he could do this. After all, he'd achieved his dream, and Mizuki had failed. Mizuki had _saved_ him, was quite possibly the only reason he'd passed at all. Iruka nodded quickly, giving permission to the hands already shucking off his clothing.

Once he'd been stripped, Iruka was carefully turned around, his hands guided behind his back with gentle movements. Iruka's shoulders tensed, but he didn't resist. If Mizuki was in the mood for a little bondage, it would be alright. "This . . ." Skilled fingers ghosted across Iruka's stomach, stilling the words in his throat. Mizuki knew exactly how to arrouse him, how to make his body beg, even if he never could get the words from Iruka's lips. The barely there touch against his growing arrousal was almost enough to completely derail the tanned man's train of thought. For another moment he struggled with speech before forcing the words to form. "This has to stop, Mizuki. This has to be the last time."

For a moment the hands paused. Quickly, fingers twisted in little patterns along the small of Iruka's back. Iruka gasped, shuddering at the touch. The long fingers continued their carress, tracing all the sensitive areas Mizuki had learned over the years. His other hand continued the faint touches to his front, effectively silencing him as it was increasingly difficult to move the air in his lungs. Mizuki leaned down to nibble at sensitive shoulder blades. "I swear Iruka. This will be the last time we ever do this."

Iruka was bent forward, his head pressed against the wall, while Mizuki moved on to binding his hands. Iruka grit his teeth to fight the urge to tell him not to. He'd been subjected to this for long enough that he knew how it worked. His body was screaming for more attention, but that wasn't how Mizuki did things. If Iruka asked for something specific, Mizuki would take pleasure in teasing him another way. If he asked for more, Mizuki would take a step away and deny him.

Swift fingers wound around Iruka's. The pattern distracted him for a few moments and he focused on it. The thin cord twisted around each finger multiple times as well as tying his wrists together. In the end, his first and second fingers of both hands were secured in one place, unable to bend in any direction. Dimly Iruka realised he would be unable to get out of this binding; any jutsu or escape trick was counter-acted by the positioning of his fingers. The teacher shivered; why would Mizuki go to so much trouble?

Mizuki pulled away, carefully turning Iruka around. For a minute he just stared at the bound man, a predatory gleam in his eye. Then his smile grew, his hands flashing through seals between them. Iruka's lungs seized up, completely failing as he realised what was happening. The smoke exploded around them, transporting him from the safety in his apartment. His eyes widened, white completely encircling the brown irises. No, no – this couldn't be happening. Mizuki wouldn't –

The smoke cleared, revealing a popular picnic spot. Not far to the left was a beautiful lake, popular with dating couples, and the small clearing bordering the water was only a few feet wide before ending abruptly in a dense but dangerous-monster-free woods, also popular with couples though for completely different reasons. Iruka struggled to pull breath into his lungs, managing a sort of hitching sob. "No. Mizuki, don't do this."

The pale man stepped forward, breaking Iruka's balance and pushing him back. The teacher clenched his eyes shut as he landed against a partly fallen tree at the edge of the clearing. While it kept him up at roughly a forty-five degree angle, it forced his legs apart if he wanted to maintain any control at all. Iruka's eyes opened again, pleading with the man above him. He'd always managed to stop himself from begging to the other, but now the words tumbled from his lips unimpeded. "Please, Mizuki, please no. Don't do this, _please_!" He pulled and twisted his hands, but the thin rope proved just as sturdy as he'd thought. All he could do was pray this was some twisted joke.

"What's going on here?" Iruka froze, a fine trembling spreading through his muscles at the voice. There was someone there! He clenched his eyes shut again, feeling tears streak down his cheeks. Iruka cursed silently, trying to banish the salty streams. He hadn't cried in front of Mizuki in years, he couldn't give that up.

Mizuki was chuckling above him. "Itsuo, you made it," he chirped brightly.

Iruka's eyes snapped open again, as wide as they could go. The stranger in the clearing was slightly smaller than Iruka, dark hair and eyes and a lecherous look on his face. More tears raced down his cheeks. "Please, please. I'll do anything, Mizuki . . ."

"No need to freak out, 'Ruka. You've met Itsuo." Iruka shuddered, still begging to be brought home. Mizuki knelt, licking away one stream of tears. "'Ruka, relax. I've been telling Itsuo about you for a while. We decided on this not long ago." Out of his field of vision, Itsuo began tracing nails along the planes of Iruka's stomach and more sensitive areas. "Itsuo's a good friend of mine, you can trust him. You trust me, don't you?"

Iruka tried to focus on the words, tried to think of a way out of this situation, but there was none. He had no choice in what happened here and there was nothing more he could do short of breaking his own arm to get out of the binding. Even that may not have been enough. Itsuo was speaking, hushed words meant for only Mizuki's ears. "Looks like he's taking it harder than we expected."

"No, this is about what I thought he'd do. But he'll accept it, won't you, 'Ruka?" Iruka realised then that nothing was going to change. Mizuki's earlier promise had been a blatent twisting of information – it was true that the game would never be the same again, but it wasn't going to stop. It was only going to get worse. The unfamiliar fingers were making it especially difficult to concentrate. Useless pleas were still falling from his lips as Mizuki straightened, undoing his pants. "Maybe he needs to be taught a lesson, though, about who's in charge here." Itsuo gave a confused look that Iruka couldn't see and Mizuki let out a chuckle. "Our little 'Ruka doesn't really like using his mouth, but . . ." Strong hands steadied Iruka's head as Mizuki shifted foreward, forcing his hard member into the teacher's mouth and forcing him into relative silence.

At the same time slick fingers traced Iruka's entrance, gently working their way inside. Iruka gasped at the sensation, giving Mizuki the chance to push in further. While the pale man was forceful, even rough, Itsuo took his time, making sure Iruka was ready before removing his fingers. He hesitated, taking a moment to massage the teacher's prostrate, making him see stars, before repositioning to thrust into him.

Iruka was still crying, strangled sobs making it nearly impossible to breathe past the intrusion in his mouth. He was starting to see spots and did the only thing he could. If he could just finish Mizuki, the man would pull back and at the very least he wouldn't asphixiate. The pale man groaned as Iruka began participating and made a quick gesture to his friend. At the cue, the newcomer's hand circled around Iruka's sac, sending shocks of pleasure through the teacher. After a moment, however, the hand pulled tight, pinching off the pathways that would allow Iruka to come.

Iruka's hips bucked up completely of their own volition. It was an odd sensation, to say the least, which quickly turned into a maddening one as his body approached that precipice. Itsuo didn't loosen his grip, keeping him just shy of release, while his free hand did wicked things to his swollen manhood. On his chest and shoulders, Mizuki was tracing patterns again, not helping Iruka's situation in the slightest as he tweaked over-sensitized nipples.

Mizuki came first, one hand pulling painfully in Iruka's hair. The scarred man caughed, semen spilling from his mouth as Mizuki retreated and he hungrily sucked in air. It wasn't a minute before Itsuo came as well, freezing where he was with a strangled cry. He didn't release his hold and after a brief pause, resumed stroking Iruka gently. Iruka was ready to scream, a strange mix of sobs and moans spilling into the silence around them.

Without warning, the space exploded in smoke, transportation jutsu carrying all three men back to the sanctuary of Iruka's apartment. Itsuo's hands disappeared suddenly, all stimulation ceasing. Iruka groaned again, still helplessly hovering on the edge and unable to do anything about it. Strong hands held his legs in place, keeping him spread-eagle and fully erect on the bed. Iruka could only thrust weakly upward, seeking anything to complete him. "Please," he sobbed to the ceiling.

He didn't realize Mizuki had moved until the man's voice came from his feet. "You can do better than that, 'Ruka. Please what?"

The bed sagged above his head and Iruka turned his head to see Itsuo climbing onto the sheets. Iruka's eyes clenched shut as he forced himself to say the words his tormenter wanted to hear. "P-please Mizuki. Finish me. L-let me come, please!"

Hands shifted on his legs and others were suddenly steadying his shoulders as Iruka was flipped onto his knees, hands still securely behind his back. He blinked in surprise, breath hitching again as he stared at Itsuo's once more hardening cock, inches from his nose. Mizuki's fingers traced at his entrance, hand pulling his sac tight again. "You'll get what you want, but not before we do. Now do as you're told, 'Ruka."

Iruka's eyes squeezed tightly shut as he lowered his head, taking as much as he could and sucking. One hand released his shoulder to tangle in soft hair, forcing his head down further before settling into a steady rythem. Mizuki pushed into him from behind, his free hand raking down the teacher's back as he started his own rythem. Iruka was helpless to stop them; his body never wanted it to end, completely ignoring the rest of him as it blindly saught anything that would bring it completion.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Kakashi watched his lover in silence. The teacher had gone completely silent as they'd approached the lake that Kakashi led him to. The silver-haired man had carefully prepared a picnic lunch for them, basket stuffed to the gills with all the foods Iruka loved best. He'd surprised the other jounin just after class and drug him away from the academy before most of the students had even left. Iruka had been all smiles and blushes until they neared the beautiful lake. Then his face had darkened, something decidedly evil entering his eyes. Kakashi sighed, taking a step away from the teacher. "Iru-chan?"

Iruka snapped to the present, looking up at his companion in shock. "Oh! S-sorry, Ka-kun. Didn't mean to zone out like that, are we eating here?"

Kakashi felt his chest tighten. He was doing it again. Iruka was blocking him out, lying right to Kakashi's face. Something had happened here in the past, something bad, but Iruka was going to pretend nothing was wrong. If asked, he would lie outright; if accused he would deny it and steer the conversation elsewhere. It was what he always did when his hated past crossed paths with his present life.

Kakashi's mind raced, calling to mind the landscape beyond the lake to see if he could play it off as simply passing through the area. But the other side of the lake bordered one of the forbidden areas – a less than romantic locale for any date. He sighed, accepting that he'd really done it this time. He couldn't even suggest they leave – past experience told him Iruka would refuse, becoming cold and distant if Kakashi forced the issue at all. "Yes," he sighed, "I thought it would be a nice place to have a late lunch." The evil look hadn't left the teacher's eyes completely, though he seemed to be trying to hide it. He was gazing vaguely towards the trees and Kakashi struck out in sudden inspiration. He caught up the other man's hand, pulling him towards the lakeshore and the several small rowboats that floated permanently just a few feet out. "I thought we could eat on the lake?"

Iruka hesitated a minute before his lips twitched up in a forced smile. Kakashi breathed another sigh, this one of relief, as he quickly untied one boat, rowing them several yards onto the small lake. Mentally, he added the lake to the short list of places he couldn't take Iruka without stirring up memories that were most definitely unwanted. There weren't many, most of the memories being confined to Iruka's appartment and individual people, but the list was still there, growing a little more detailed every day. It was really too bad, this lake was absolutely gorgeous for a date . . .

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka walked to his window with heavy steps. Kakashi slid into the apartment, shutting the door silently behind them. He'd been this way since the lake, practically the walking dead. He reached up, slowly closing the window in his living area. Kakashi stayed beside the door, giving the teacher his space. This had happened before; the slow, deliberate movements as he activated traps and turned on security devices were familiar. Once they'd made their relationship official, Kakashi had devoted a good portion of his time to breaking Iruka of the habits. Now, most nights he left the window unlocked. Most nights they slept with Iruka's bedroom window open.

Iruka had gotten this same look about a month after they'd been dating. It was the first mission Kakashi had gotten that would send him out of the village for more than a day. Iruka had shut his windows just like this, activating the traps with weighted fingers. It had been unexpected then, but this time Kakashi wasn't surprised when Iruka spoke. "I want to be alone tonight, Ka-kun."

The first time it had happened, Kakashi had argued, insisting they be together until the very hour he had to start preparing for the mission. He'd finally retreated when Iruka had started yelling, frantically insisting that he had to be alone. Kakashi had retreated, fearing he'd truly hurt the teacher, and hadn't slept at all, hovering on a nearby rooftop, worried what might happen if he left the man alone. When he'd had to leave for his mission, Kakashi had all but demanded his friends in the ANBU watch Iruka's apartment while he was gone. He was just as worried that Iruka might fall into a depression as he was someone would try and take advantage of his absence. He'd been distracted the whole mission, and it had cost him an extra day because of it.

Kakashi had returned and gone to his friends first, before even stopping by the missions desk. According to them, nothing happened. When he'd darted to his lover's apartment immediately afterward, he'd been told the same thing. It was a full week before he found out they'd all been lying. Iruka had all but broken down the first night he'd been gone, completely skipping class the next day. Keiko had spent the whole day with him and both had lied to Kakashi's face. Furthermore, Sato had stopped two people from visiting Iruka and had kept that from Kakashi, too. The jounin had made sure those particular ninja got the message about the game being over. He was fairly certain Iruka didn't know he'd found out about any of it.

This, though, this was different. Iruka was shutting down, retreating into himself just like he had then. But it wasn't fear of being left alone. This was driven purely on his memories. Kakashi cursed softly, this was all because he'd brought him to that stupid lake. "Kakashi? Did you hear me?"

The silver haired man looked up, meeting his lover's eyes. "You sure?" Iruka nodded, turning towards his bedroom. Kakashi stayed where he was beside the door. "'Ruka, I didn't mea-"

"Don't call me that," Iruka snapped, freezing in the doorway.

Kakashi blinked a moment before realizing what he'd done. "Iru-chan. I didn't mean to upset you. I wanted today to be perfect . . . I'm sorry."

Iruka seemed to sag, deflating where he stood. After several moments he turned, offering a forced smile to the other. "It's not your fault. I just need some time alone, all right?"

Kakashi just nodded. "Tomorrow's Saturday, will you be all right to teach your class?" Iruka's smile purified a little, bringing a bit of life back to the teacher. He was constantly hounding Kakashi to come to the advanced class he taught, but the copy nin usualy refused or showed up with only five minutes left. He made a promise to himself that he'd be there for the teacher tomorrow. "Night, Iru-chan." Kakashi slipped back out the door, wondering what he would do now.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N: **And there you have it! I promised a nice long(er) chapter and there it is. Poor Iruka, still having so much trouble. I promise it will get better for him, just not yet. Kakashi's got it hard, too, but don't worry. They're both uber and they can pull through. This'll probably be the most graphic chapter, I appologise if any of you went all squicky, it just sort of came out that way. Anyway, again a happy new year. See you Friday!


	4. Age 21 Introductions Aren't his Favorite

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** Have I mentioned lately I hate ffnet? I just spent ten minutes typing up my author notes and went to save the chapter and ffnet decided it didn't want to save what I had typed! -Kalanoa rubs head to ward off an oncoming migraine- Anyway, let's see how much I can duplicate from memory. Hello all! I missed you Friday, the unfortunate side effect of not having this story totally done is that I might miss some updates. Add onto that that I started Winter Session classes last week. My god, is there anything more boring than sitting in a class for nearly four hours straight listening to a teacher lecture? My classes are fairly interesting, but _still_! The big advantage is that it's only three weeks long, I'm almost halfway through already. Anyway! Thanks to all of you have been reading! ffnet has fixed their alert system, too, so that makes things somewhat easier, too. And all of you are so brave to get through that last chapter. It's like Reily said - it needed to be written and it reveals a lot about our poor Iru-chan, but that's not the sort of thing anyone likes to think about. (Does that make me weird since I'm the one that thought it up? Nah, just proves I'm an angst-whore) Anyway, enjoy

-o-o-o-Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Kakashi wandered the street, wondering what he was going to do with the rest of his evening. It was far to early to go to sleep, the sun had barely even set. He'd been looking forward to a nice long snuggle session with Iruka after their perfect, romantic picnic late-lunch. That had been _such_ a _wonderful_ success. Kakashi reached out, idly snapping a fencepost with one hand. It helped him feel better, but not much.

"Kakashi-sensei?" The silver haired man turned to see Naruto looking at him, a strange look in his eyes. "Did the fence do something bad?"

Kakashi numbly looked at the fence, suddenly realizing he'd snapped three more posts, leaving only two holding up a long cross beam. He very deliberatly pulled his hand close to his chest. "It insulted my mother," he muttered, focusing on the whiskered boy again. Beneath his mask, a smile crept across his face. "Hey Naruto, how about some ramen?"

"You kidding? Totally! Your treat, right?"

Kakashi nodded slightly, "Your first five bowls, no more." Naruto didn't drop his smile, feverishly agreeing to the condition and following as Kakashi led the way towards the stand, picking up Neji, Hinata, and Kiba on the way. In mere minutes, the four students were ransacking Ichiraku's under Kakashi's watchful eye. The jounin just smiled. Was this why Iruka treated Naruto so often? The pure joy flowing off the boy was positively infectious, seeping into Kakashi and chasing away his darker thoughts and worries.

He wasn't expecting anything to intrude on this one peaceful moment, so the quiet flare of chakra surprised him. It was the shinobi equivalent of clearing your throat, barely even there and not even remotly threatening. Still it sent a shiver up his spine and he stood to see who was trying to get his attention. He didn't miss it either as Neji and Hinata both glared through the wall.

Kakashi slipped around the building, doing his best uninterested look as he studied the man waiting there. It wasn't someone he recognised and Kakashi wondered if it was because he truly didn't know him or because he was using a jutsu to disguise himself. Either way, there was only one reason he'd want to talk to Kakashi. The copy nin crossed his arms, leaning casualy against the wall of the resuraunt.

The stranger just glared at him. "I'm here to stop you."

"Really. That's interesting since I was the one to stop all of this."

"Stopped everyone else, you mean." Kakashi narrowed his eyes, trying to piece that one together. "I'm not the only one that wants to keep you away from him."

"Last January; scar on his leg required eight stitches." Kakashi turned to see Neji behind him, scowl on his face.

The ninja growled loudly. "That was an accident! I was the one who brought him to the hospitol. I didn't even finish . . . you know . . ."

Kakashi looked back at the man, eyes narrowing at the distinct blush coloring his cheeks. "What makes you think you have any right to talk to me about relationships?"

The man just glared harder. "When I found out what I was a part of, it made me physically ill. No one's saying you didn't do a great thing in stopping it. But that doesn't mean it's okay to make him yours. Iruka won't do a thing about it and most people are too scared of you to fight for him, but not me."

Kakashi frowned, making sure the man knew exactly how he felt. "Iruka isn't being forced into anything. I'd watch my step if I were going to go around making unfounded accusations."

"You can't intimidate me, Kakashi. You're just as bad as Mizuki and I won't-"

Kakashi didn't know he had any real buttons to push. Insult his father and he was likely to snap at you. Badmouth the fourth and you could expect a mild beating. And he already knew he bacame rather violent and protective when it came to Iruka. Apparently being compared to Mizuki was something one should never do. Kakashi's mind cleared slowly as he stared at his kunai, buryied several inches in the middle of the man's throat.

Shit.

The man's eyes were huge, gaping at Kakashi as he struggled just to breathe. The blade had cleanly peirced his voicebox and Kakashi thanked deities he didn't believe in that he'd had enough control not to slice through his arteries. Kakashi didn't even have to look to know that Neji was gone. He paryed even more fervently to those gods that the Hyuuga had enough sense to get Tsunade herself; any other medinin's first priority would be to immobilize Kakashi and they would almost certainly use less than pleasant methods.

Hands that were too cold to be good wrapped around Kakashi's arm, but he struggled not to be moved. He kept his arm where it was, using all the control he had not to so much as shake. As the wound was now, it wasn't fatal, but the slightest twitch in such a vulnerable area could change that. Double Shit. And he was still struggling slightly, terrified to be completely at the mercy of a shinobi that he clearly thought was the new incarnation of evil. Kakashi closed his eye a moment, slowly going over all the rumors about himself that he knew in a sort of meditation to figure out what had prompted this interaction.

It was another minute before someone landed behind him and Kakashi had to remind his body not to turn and face them. A slim hand reached around his shoulders, gently resting against the hand wrapped around the kunai. "You can let go now, I've got it," Tsunade's disembodied voice whispered into his ears. Kakashi forced his fingers to release, his arm to retract. He took a step back and turned to face the hokage to explain himself. He distinctly remembered opening his mouth to speak, but then a well manacured hand was racing into his field of view, and it would be unthinkably stupid to try and dodge his only real boss . . . Kakashi's world dimmed and darkened as he first flew down the alley and then tumbled across the wide street, coming to rest with a solid thunk against a small merchant's stand.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kakashi was awake. He did not want to be, but he was. He was lying on a very uncomfortable bed – he assumed a hospitol cot – with a pounding headache, several other aches and pains throughout his body, and one seriously pissed off chakra signiture less than three feet away. He still had his eyes shut, trying to delay the lecture as long as humanly possible.

The chakra, you see, belonged to one Umino Iruka. Kakashi was well aware that the teacher could conceal his presence when he chose to, so he also knew he was letting that murderous intent leak out deliberatly, just so the copy nin would wake up to that feeling. It was intense, sending little movies of the less than plesant variety running through Kakashi's head. It would have almost certainly brought a lesser ninja to his knees in pure, unadulturated terror. As it was, it helped _quite_ a bit that Kakashi was already lying down.

There was something else there, too. Something that Iruka never had quite mastered hiding. A deep-seeded depression, thrumming as an underscore to the rage. It was faint, but massivly hollow, consuming his whole being while the anger flowed mostly on the surface. Slowly Kakashi put the pieces together as he tried to figure out what it was. Iruka never did let down his control, not completely, not even around Kakashi. This hollow pain was something Kakashi had thought he'd erased, but clearly it had just been covered up. Now that Iruka was using his feelings as a weapon, he cound no longer hide it. It was possible he didn't even recognise it as something detectable any more. All the effort Kakashi had put into healing his lover, the months of gentle caresses and long nights of reassurance . . . suddenly he was faced with the possibility that he hadn't changed anything at all. This realization made Kakashi open his eyes.

Iruka's eyes were smoldering. None of that dark emptiness was visible, just pure rage pouring off of him and onto the other jounin. "What did you do?"

Kakashi blinked and swallowed at the straigt forward question. The teacher's voice was actually shaking with contained anger. "I injured-" Iruka's eyes narrowed and Kakashi quickly restarted his statement. "I attacked-" The teacher's eyes narrowed again and Kakashi's own grew wider. "Please don't tell me I killed him."

Iruka's jaw twitched. "He's still alive."

Kakashi's eyes shut a moment, prayers of thanks quickly going out to those dieties he was starting to have considerable faith in. He forced his eyes open again and forced the sentence from his lips as quickly as possible, ignoring the way Iruka looked like he was about to impale him. "I attacked and seriously injured a fellow shinobi and a good man who really was only thinking about your well being."

All the extra words to praise the mystery ninja – Kakashi silently vowed to learn the man's name and bring him flowers or something of the like – didn't seem to have any effect on the seething man standing over him. "Why did you do it?" he asked in that same quiet voice that promised a slow, _slow_ and painful death.

Kakashi hesitated. Reason or not, bringing up Mizuki's name wasn't something he liked doing around Iruka to begin with, much less when the man was homicidal. He settled on a secondary reason, hoping the teacher wouldn't catch the omission and force it out of him. "He had hurt you, and he accused me of doing the same."

The sudden absence of killing intent engulphed Kakashi. Iruka had put a tight reign on his chakra, completely blocking the silver-haired man out. Kakashi's eyes widened and he felt the rather unfamiliar heat in his nose that was the precursor to tears. There was only one reason Iruka would have done that and it was if he didn't want Kakashi to feel something that would be given away by his chakra. After a statement like that, the only thing he wouldn't have wanted Kakashi to feel was an agreement. The words pounded into him just as clearly as if Iruka had spoken them aloud. _You do hurt him_. Tight lipped and still glaring, Iruka turned his back on the injured man. "I have a meeting with the Hyugas in the morning. I'll let the medinin know you're awake."

That was it. No goodbye, no more hostile interrogation. Iruka simply shut down, blocking him out again. The unfamiliar burn in his nose grew slightly stronger as Kakashi swung his legs over the edge of the cot. He was dressed in only a few seconds, bounding out the window long before the medinin made it through his doorway.

-o-o-o-o-o-

After Iruka had asked Kakashi to leave, he'd settled onto his bed to try and wait out the night and the nightmares he knew were waiting for him. When a soft knocking had drawn him back to the front door, he honestly expected it to be Kakashi, most likely with some ridiculous toy to try and regain access to his bed for the night. He was surprised, however, to see a young boy of the Hyuuga clan, dressed in plain beige robes and looking blankly at him. "Hiashi Hyuga-sama has requested your presence tomorrow morning."

Iruka frowned, taking the folded letter the boy was holding out to him. His task completed, the runner left, leaving Iruka to contemplate why the head of the village's most prestigious clan wanted to see him. The letter gave few details beyond time and place, so Iruka's imagination was left to run free. Unfortunately, his imagination had long since thought of several worst-case scenarios involving meetings with high ranking village elders, so he was really just left to debate just _how_ bad it would be.

An hour later he'd been startled from his thoughts by a much less gentle knock. The ninja trying to attract his attention this time was pounding so hard on his door, Iruka was certain it would splinter in another few seconds. He flew to the portal, wrenching it open before he had to start thinking about repair costs. Standing there looking fairly frantic was Kiba, fist still raised for another solid pound. "Kiba-?"

"No time to talk, Kakashi did something really stupid, you gotta come now, really stupid-"

Akamaru was several yards down the hall, looking back at the two shinobi and whimpering loudly, shifting from paw to paw in his eagerness. Iruka's brow furrowed further. "What-"

Kiba's hand wrapped around Iruka's wrist, pulling him into the hallway at a breakneck speed. "I said there's no time! Kakashi did something really, really, _really_ stupid and you have to come **_now_**!"

Iruka didn't even have the time to reach back and shut his door as the Inuzuka dragged him along, muttering a swift and conduluted story to try and bring the jounin up to speed. Iruka had to remind himself to breathe when he heard the words kunai and throat in the same sentence. He stumbled nearly to the ground when Tsunade's name came up and he wondered if Kakashi really flew twenty yards. When they reached the hospitol, Iruka had to dig his heels into the dirt to keep from being drug straight through the building. At Kiba's confused look, Iruka just frowned. "I want to see the man he attacked."

The wild boy nodded, quickly rerouting his path and leading Iruka through the hallways. Iruka pushed open the door to the observatory when they arrived. The man was being operated on and Iruka couldn't actualy be at his side, but standing over the room, in a glass encased balcony, he could at least see his face. Iruka's heart stopped, recognising one of the other teachers that worked at the academy, Tohiro. Any doubts about what had sparked the attack disappeared as Iruka sank into one of the cushioned seats. He barely twitched as another presence entered the room, waiting for the woman to speak. "He'll live," Tsunade said softly. "I got him out of the danger zone and there's a good chance he'll even be able to speak without much difficulty."

Iruka pitched forward, burying his face in his hands. "What did he _do_?"

"The kunai peirced his larynx and he'll have to stay under observation to make sure the esophogus wasn't affected. He'll be okay though. Kakashi reacted on instinct and afterward did everything he could to minimalise damage."

Iruka could feel his blood starting to boil. "Where is he?" His voice was hollow as he asked it and he could just _feel_ Tsunade shift away as she gave the poor man's room number. Iruka had gotten the story from one very frazzled Kiba, and now from a surprisingly sympathetic Hokage. Now he wanted to hear it from Kakashi's own lips.

And then the idiot had gone and said _that_. And Iruka had shut down again. He was already stressed from the day's events, moreso from that stupid little messenger. And then Kakashi just had to say _that_. To make matters that much worse, Iruka knew he hadn't been able to keep the truth from the other man. Seeing that hurt in his mismatched eyes, imagining the pained frown hidden beneath that stretch of fabric had only wrenched at his heart more. He'd turned his back, hiding his expression from the other, and left, any hope of a peacful night's sleep long gone.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 21 -o-o-o-

Mizuki looked evenly at Itsuo, waiting for the man's reaction to his idea. The brunette frowned slightly, "I thought you were having fun with this."

"Oh, I am. But he's gotten used to it. I want to break him, make him suffer like he _should_ be. It's about time we expanded the game."

Itsuo nodded slightly, thinking it over. It was true that Iruka seemed to have grown accustomed to their occasional visits. He even talked to them during the days as if nothing was wrong at all. It was because of the boy, he was certain. That stupid blonde, the outcast of the village. He was in Iruka's younger class now and the teacher drew strength from him. Perhaps Mizuki was right and it was time to extend the game. "I know just who to bring in, to. Leave everything to me, I'll let Iruka know there's been a problem and see how he deals with it when he gets a new visitor tonight."

Mizuki's lips twitched into a frown. "Is it wise to warn him ahead of time?"

Itsuo just chuckled. "Of course. If some stranger shows up, Iruka might fight back, or even tell them what's been going on. If he thinks his visitor already knows . . . if he thinks they may go to the school if he doesn't get what he wants . . . a whole new world of possibilities opens up. Besides, it'll just reinforce his trust in me if I warn him and appologise ahead of time."

Mizuki was smiling by the time the other had finished. Yes, this was what he loved about the man. He had the most _devious_ mind and he knew exactly how to put it to use. "We'll watch tonight and see what happens."

-o-o-o-o-o-

And things had gone startlingly well. At first. Iruka had insisted he deal with the problem on his own, playing right into the settup. The man Itsuo had chosen was bigger and stronger than Iruka and he didn't seem to have any morals about forcing a supposedly willing Iruka into the positions he wanted.

But then Iruka had faught back. He'd struggled, and before anyone knew what had happened, the young teacher had been hurt. Badly. Mizuki burst through the window, startling both men and making the larger flee. Itsuo had intercepted him – Mizuki didn't bother worrying about the blood on the shorter man's arm as he settled near Iruka. It was all sorts of entertaining to break the teacher slowly and see how much he could take. It was completely different to have the poor man bleed to death on the floor of his own apartment. Mizuki glared up at Itsuo as if it was his fault. "He needs a medic."

On the floor, Iruka made a whine that sounded surprisingly like a no and Mizuki glanced at him. Itsuo was frowning, too. "No medinin, they'd want to know what happened. Who in the village-"

"Rinshi. Find him and get him here fast." Itsuo was gone in an instant. Mizuki frowned as he looked down at the teacher. He was already quite pale, the wound in his side leeching away his life rather quickly. He was looking up at the pale man with unfocused, pleading eyes. One hand reached for him weakly, but Mizuki shifted just out of reach. "This is what you get when you fight, Iruka. You did this to yourself."

Itsuo dropped through the window only a minute later, Rinshi in tow. The tall man took one look at Iruka and was instantly beside him, small bag of medical supplies completely upended on the ground beside him. "What the hell happened?" He muttered, hands flying through seals and applying pressure to the wound.

Mizuki and Itsuo shared a glance, but neither said anything. Rinshi worked in quick silence to stem the bleeding and wrap the wound. The large man looked up at the others again. "He needs to go to the hospitol. I'm no medinin, I can only do so much. I can't even tell if his chakra pathways have been damaged-"

He trailed off as fingers tangled in his pants leg. Iruka looked ready to pass out, but his eyes held a sort of intensity while he looked up at the man. "Please," he managed in a barely there whisper. "Please no."

Rinshi looked at Mizuki who just shrugged before cradeling Iruka's hand in his own. "All right, all right. Just relax and focus on healing. I'll do what I can."

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N: **And there you have it, Iruka's introduction to Rinshi. Seems like a pretty good guy, right? He is! I like the say the character developed, even if he isn't a main character, and he really is a pretty cool person. Of course, Mizuki hasn't tainted him yet, that comes later, probably next chapter. And you know the Hyuga meeting isn't going to go well. Poor Iruka. Wait, what am I saying? What I mean is poor Kakashi! I actually know what I've got planned for him. He means so well, but he has no idea what is going through Iruka's head and he just keeps doing the wrong thing. Sigh, and it'll get worse before it gets better.


	5. Age 21 New Friends are Just New Foes

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** Tee hee, poor Kakashi. Good to know I'm not the only angst-whore out there. Well, I knew that already or I wouldn't have any readers. Look I'm on time again! SilverRoseKeeper, hello! Don't worry, I'm not dropping this, I only drop stories that get no reviews. (Even my GW/YYH crossover isn't dropped, just sort of ignored...) I'm so glad to see Mo and KAT and SM and you otherses. Yes, honest, Rinshi's a pretty good guy. Sort of. He's in this chapter breifly as a flashback and Iruka meets up with him in present time next chapter. It may take that long, but by then you should be able to understand him a little. I miss you anon and Reily! Busy with school-prep stuff? Oh well, whatever. On with the show!

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Iruka's alarm was lying on the floor, a crack across the plastic face, the battery compartment all but destroyed, and a large pillow hiding it from view. He did _not_ want to be awake and moving. Part of it was the horrible night's sleep he had, part of it was knowing what he was waking up to. After destroying the poor electronic device, Iruka had finally crawled out of bed, glaring death at the wall clock that still clearly showed the time, and stumbled his way to the bathroom to wash and get ready for his meeting.

He dug through his hamper, searching for the hitai-ate that had been thrown in there accidentaly after the confusion the night before, and pulled it out with a frown. He pulled on a clean uniform and shrugged into his vest as he stepped out the door. Logically he knew he should eat, but the way his stomach was dancing told him that was a very bad idea just at the moment. Instead he merely shuffled along the street toward the Hyuga compound, dragging his feet so obviously he would have kicked himself id he'd had the energy.

The man was greated at the door by a pretty girl from the branch house dressed in the typical beige robes. She didn't meet his eyes and Iruka's face fell that much more. Was it that she knew what was going to happen or was she just showing defference? Did she think Iruka strong and clever and talented or . . . Iruka mentaly shook himself, some of the motion showing through as his head went quickly side to side. He couldn't go falling apart now, not before he'd even laid eyes on the head of the clan.

Iruka was led to a fairly large room and ushered inside. With a deep, steadying breath, he bowed to Hiashi Hyuga and went to the center of the room, his obvious place. Hiashi was standing across from him, a half dozen elder Hyugas seated behind him, all gazing at Iruka as he took his seat. He forced his eyes to meet Hiashi's, waiting for the older man to begin the meeting properly.

Hiashi sat, nodding a greeting to the teacher. "I'm glad you could make it, Iruka-sensei." The teacher gave no response, not having the energy to devout to pleasentries. Hiashi nodded, sensing the man's mood and simply moving on. "We wanted to talk to you about Hinabi." Iruka nodded stiffly, already calling to mind arguments to justify himself. Hiashi frowned, continuing after only a slight pause. "We have decided that she should not be in your academy class."

Hiashi stopped, clearly waiting for Iruka's reaction to the statement. The jounin closed his eyes breifly, taking a deep breath and ordering his thoughts before he opened his mouth. "Hanabi is a very gifted child; she shows great promise in her studies. Still, to change her class environment at this point would be unwise. She needs to be with the friends she's made. She needs a teacher who is familiar with her strengths and weaknesses. Someone who knows how best to help her improve. I think you should rethink your decision."

Hiashi frowned slightly. "We've already put in a request with the Hokage."

Iruka faltered at this, gaping at the man across from him. Breifly his eyes flickered over the other gathered elders, almost seeking conformation. Iruka's mouth snapped shut and he focused on not screaming at these people. This wasn't his classroom where he could just scream an unruly child into submission. Slowly, choosing each word with great care, he opened his mouth again. "I think that was extremely hasty of you. If you would have come to me first, I could have explained myself and we could have thought about what was best for Hanabi. Now we'll have to go to Tsunade once we've reached a decision here." Hiashi was still frowning, opening his mouth to say something. Iruka cut him off sharply, a bit of his teacher's instincts slipping through. "You would _not_ have called me here if you had no intention of listening to my side of things."

Hiashi was glowering now, meeting the teacher's eyes and daring him to interrupt again. "We called you here because you are a good teacher and have proven yourself to be a good man and a good shinobi, recently promoted, even. Your judgement, on the other hand, has proven to be seriously suspect." Iruka's jaw clenched, but he said nothing, letting the other continue. "If you were only responsible for yourself, it would be a different matter, but you are the teacher of our children. And to think of those children being exposed to that," he seemed to struggle for the proper word, "degenerate," he finally spat. "A talented jounin, to be sure, but not someone a teacher should associate with at all. We do not want Hanabi associated with someone like that and we've recommended that other families consider doing the same."

Iruka was staring at the clan leader in shock, struggling to assemble the pieces of information in his head. "Kakashi?" he managed in a whisper before his voice rose drastically. "This is about Kakashi?!"

Hiashi blinked, his own agner evident. "I will not have my daughter around such perversity if there is something I can do about it."

Iruka's control shattered. He surged to his feet, fists clenched at his sides, yelling at the top of his lungs. "You're honestly punishing Kakashi! You don't even know anything about him!"

Hiashi was on his feet now, too. "The rumors about him are far more believable than those about you, Sensei. There is plenty of reason-"

"Rumors? Rumors! You don't even have proof, do you? What are you blaming him for, the things his father did? The missions he's failed and the death of his teammates? Explain to me how any of those things were his fault! Give me a reason, a _good reason_ why Kakashi should be punished for any of it, let alone his partner!"

"You're far out of line, Sensei!"

"And your basing it on _rumors_! I can garauntee the rumors about me are more true than _anything_ you've heard about him." Iruka's face was burning. He couldn't believe what he'd just said, but he wasn't about to cover it up or take it back. The man in front of him, the whole family disgusted him right now and he would sooner die than let them talk about his lover that way.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Behind him, the elders had broken into frantic whispers, making no effort to keep their voices unheard. The clan head spoke in a low voice, somehow threatening despite its neutral tone. "What rumors, exactly, are you talking about, Sensei?" Iruka's fists still shook at his sides. He turned his eyes away, unable to look at the man for the first time. Stiffly he turned to the door, and Hiashi growled at him. "I asked you a question."

"Ask Hotarou!" Iruka snapped, storming from the room.

Hiashi glanced over his shoulder in shock. Hotarou was a slightly older Hyuga, held in high respect within the clan. She looked entirely nonplussed about the teacher's outburst, but surely he had snapped her name for a reason. He turned back to the door, activating his blood limit with a thought. Iruka stood just outside, delayed at least a moment by the two teenagers that stood there; Hinata and Neji had been listening to the interaction and both greeted Iruka with grim, worried faces.

The teacher brushed aside their hands and started down the hallway, the teens following without hesitation. "Neji!" Hiashi snapped through the wall at the boy.

Neji froze where he was, head snapping towards the commanding voice. He hesitated, glancing down the hallway and back again, struggling between obeying the head of his house and helping his beloved teacher. After another moment of hesitation, he frowned, slipping into the meeting room.

With a glare, Hiashi cleared the room, leaving him alone with Neji and Hotarou. The woman was still looking calm, but the tension could be seen clearly in Neji. Hiashi turned to him once the room was emptied. "You know about this?" The boy nodded once and Hiashi sighed. "What can you tell me about his reaction."

Neji frowned. "I can tell you it was justified, from what I could tell." The clan head glared at him until Neji looked away slightly. "It's a matter of Konoha security, I can't tell you."

Hiashi frowned at him again. "Neji-"

"I'm under orders directly from the Hokage, I _won't_ tell you."

For the first time, Hotarou spoke and her voice was just as disinterested as her posture. "He really isn't worth this, you know. There's no reason for _you_ to suffer for his mistakes."

"You don't know anything about it," Neji snapped at her, a bit of his own calm dissappearing. "You have no idea what he's been through."

Hiashi remained silent, watching the two in their brief battle. Hotarou's voice went from bored to angry in a second. "Don't be a fool! He was a strong shinobi, even as a chunin. It's not as if he faught back."

"How does that make it okay!" Neji wasn't screaming, but he was clearly outraged. "How is any of what you did okay? You scarred him! He walked with a limp for more than a month!"

"Neji." The genin snapped his mouth shut at Hiashi's voice, focusing on him again. He said nothing else, just staring until Neji spoke.

"It wan't his fault." He glared breifly at Hotarou. "And it was _never_ his choice."

Hiashi was silent another moment before he sighed. "Go find Iruka and bring him back here. Get him refreshments and make him comfortable. I will return shortly." His hand wrapped around Hotarou's arm, anger clearly restrained in the motion, and moved toward the door.

Neji found Iruka within minutes. He hadn't gone far, slouched over in the Hyuga garden with Hinata. The girl was quiet, just sitting beside him and offering what little strength she could give. Neji cleared his throat quietly and the teacher looked up. He was pale and his eyes were red, though he didn't appear to have been crying. He stood slowly, as if he had to force every muscle to move. "How mad is he?" he mumbled, following as Neji led him back into the house.

Neji hesitated. "It's . . . really hard to say. I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei. I told him it wasn't your fault."

They reached the meeting room and Iruka went to the table against one wall and sat. "Thank you." And he lapsed into silence, staring at his hands.

Iruka wasn't really aware of Neji leaving but being alone in the room hit him suddenly. He made no attempt to keep track of time, focusing on staying calm and not, for lack of a better term, freaking out. His mind ran away with him, imagining punishments and consequences, each worse than the last, despite his attempts at almost-meditation. When the door slid open some time later, Iruka physically flinched, not looking at the Hyuga head as he approached the table.

Hiashi settled onto the floor on the side of the table nearest Iruka, instead of across from the teacher. The move in itself made the air more intimate, completely going against the formality of their earlier meeting. Iruka clenched his hands together to try and control the shaking in his arms and his knuckles began to whiten.

"Iruka." The teacher flinched again. Hiashi didn't affix any title to his name, keeping his voice light and soft. "It appears I have been gravely misinformed about your situation. If I ask you a question, will you answer it honestly so that I can understand?"

Iruka nodded stiffly. Clenching his eyes closed and still not looking at the older man.

"Is it true that your bed has been open to any ninja who wished it?"

Iruka flinched again, his hands shaking more. "Yes," he whispered.

Hiashi's lips thinned and he made a thoughtful noise. "Is it true that it was not your choice?"

Iruka nodded. "I couldn't stop it."

"But Kakashi did." Iruka flinched again, curling in on himself slightly. Hiashi sighed and reached for the teacher's clasped hands. "And Hotarou hurt you."

Iruka lifted a hand to his eyes, struggling to remain in control. "It was an accident." The words slipped from his lips almost without thought. "I was taken off missions for two weeks and limped for a lot longer. But . . . it-it wasn't her fault."

Hiashi tightened his hold, trying to quiet the man without frightening him. "Don't try and defend her or what she did. I've already dealt with that." Iruka took a deep breath, shuddering. "I went to Tsunade and it turns out she has refused my request to move Hanabi to another class."

The change of topic was obvious, but Iruka took it gratefuly. "You could force the issue."

"But I won't. As I see it now my daughter is still at great risk of being exposed to that . . . to Kakashi. But she is also wonderfuly protected by her teacher, a man who is stronger even than I realised."

Iruka smiled slightly, finally looking at the man.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kakashi wondered how early would be too early to go and see Iruka. Of course being on time for anything, let alone early, went against Kakashi's very nature. But he'd proven in the past that he was more than willing to make the exception for Iruka. And maybe Kakashi was a little anxious to see him again. He was worried since yesterday had been such an unrivaled disaster and he wanted to see the teacher alone before he popped in on his advanced class.

Sneaking to his apartment unseen was like counting to ten and before he knew it, Kakashi was there. Remebering that the teacher had activated traps on the windows was harder and, in fact, Kakashi forgot. He nearly stumbled right into a tripwire before correcting his imbalance and taking more time to enter the apartment. Iruka, however, wasn't there. Kakashi went around the home on reflex, straightening the bed and quickly repairing what he could of the alarm – things he'd been doing for months to make Iruka feel better when he'd upset him. Then Kakashi leapt to the rooftops, trying to find where his boyfriend had gone.

He had said something last night about a meeting. Kakashi really hadn't been paying attention, he'd been somewhat distracted by the way Iruka's face had made his chest ache. Kakashi shook off the renewed tenseness at that thought and redirected towards the Hyuga compound.

Iruka's chakra was easy enough to find and the way it leaked and flared slightly sent a chill up Kakashi's spine. The teacher was stressed – badly – if he was having that much trouble controling his chakra. Kakashi took care to hide his presence, even more so than usual. Let alone the ramifications if Iruka found out he was being spied upon, Kakashi knew more or less what the Hyugas thought about him and they held enough clout in the village to make his life miserable. He thought about that and decided he didn't mind that so much as making Iruka's life horrible; the teacher was, after all, inextricably linked with him now. In fact, Kakashi thought, that was probably why he'd been called here to begin with.

Kakashi crept towards the flare of familiar chakra, hoping not to run across a stray Byakugan use that would reveal him. Iruka was inside slouched against one wall, cup of tea clasped in his hands. Hiashi was sitting beside him, blithely sipping at his own tea as he listened to the jounin talk. Kakashi's breath caught. Right, well, not talking about him then. Iruka was blushing deeply, quietly giving the other man details about his past.

The man was clever about it, too. His descriptions could not be mistaken when heard in context, but they were carefully vague, using terms like 'visit' and 'watching' for things that Kakashi knew were far more serious. He was also carefully avoiding names, and even pronouns, with the exception of Mizuki. Even Itsuo's name was absent, though Kakashi knew that the rumors mentioned him since the man's arrest. Iruka mentioned specific scars as well as some of the lengths he'd gone to to control the damage that had been going on.

Hiashi nodded thoughtfully, refilling the teacher's tea in blatent denial of the hierarchy that should have been in place between the two. "And Kakashi?"

Ah, there his name was. He knew it had to come up eventualy. "He-" Iruka stopped for a long minute to choose the right words. "He came to me the same way. He thought it was my choice, same as you did earlier." Kakashi actualy flinched at the words, ashamed at the truth in them. "But then . . . he took me on a date. A real date. I owe him so much."

Kakashi couldn't listen to any more, he had to leave. In mere seconds, his mind was chasing itself in circles while his feet carried him far away from the compound. Was that what Iruka thought? That he _owed_ him? The teacher's cold mood the past couple of days made that bit of tantalising doubt stick in his mind. But that was because of that damn lake, not because Iruka felt _obligated_.

_But he's been distant in the past, too._

I screw up a lot. It's hard with him, I never know what might trigger a bad memory.

_He's been cold to you even when you've done everything right._

Kakashi sped his pace, running blindly across the rooftops of Konoha. Iruka was complex and he'd been hurt so badly by people he trusted. He's afraid, it has nothing to do with me.

_But what is he afraid of if not you?_

Kakashi spat several curses at the traitorous voice in his head. It was pointless doubt with no truth behind it at all. After all, it was _Iruka_ who asked him to stay once they'd dealt with Itsuo. It was _Iruka_ who clung to his side after waking from a nightmare.

. . . It was Kakashi that always offered comfort. It was Kakashi that always wanted to stay the night. It was Kakashi constantly asking permission and trying to make up for mistakes. _Mistakes like the lake_ he told himself firmly, but after a moment, his conscious pushed that one aside. _Mistakes like nearly killing that chunin. Think about it, you're violent, you're overprotective, you're always teasing him. Think about what he must think of you! He's sitting with the head of the Hyuga clan having a real conversation about things he's never told you even when you _ask

Kakashi's feet slowled to a stop and he looked up. He wasn't really surprised to find himself at the memorial stone. It was where he felt most at home and right now he needed to be somewhere safe and think this through. He went to the carved marble, fingers finding Obito's name on pure instinct. If he were here, he'd know what to do about this.

Kakashi tried again and again to convince himself he was imagining it all, but his doubts just grew stronger. For every reason he thought of that he was _certain_ Iruka cared for him, there were three arguments for the opposite. Iruka blushed every time Kakashi baught him some stupid gift. But Iruka also blushed when he was furrious, he even blushed when he was scared, on occasion. And the teacher certainly enjoyed it when they were together, but he had enjoyed many of the encounters he'd had in the past on a purely physical level and had still been suffering horribly.

He'd never even told Kakashi about any of it. He knew names and he knew some of what had been done to him, but it was all from his own research and what he'd heard from Neji, Shino and the others. Iruka had never told him anything. He knew that Iruka had gone to Mizuki and then the bastard had turned the relationship around, but he didn't know when. He'd memorised every scar on the teacher's body, but had no idea which were from missions or common injuries and which had been less pleasant in acquisition. Now he'd heard a few details from Iruka's own lips, but the words had been directed at someone else – at that prude of a Hyuga for crying out loud!

Kakashi's knees gave out and he sunk to the ground and leaned his head against the cool stone. It all came back to one thing. He had no idea how Iruka felt. He _thought_ he did, but now he wasn't so sure. A tear slipped from the sharingan and Kakashi shuddered. For the first time in four months, he didn't know what Iruka felt, but there was no doubt about what he felt for Iruka. Only one force on Earth could bring sharingan Kakashi to his knees, more and more tears streaking into his mask. He loved Iruka. And he had no idea what to do now.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 21 -o-o-o-

Iruka stretched where he sat at the mission's desk. He raised his arms over his head carefully, arching his back just to the point that the wound in his side stretched enough to be painful. He straightened and took a deep breath, ignoring the way that, too, stretched the injury, and shuffled the papers on the desk. It really would heal faster if he spoke with a medinin. Hell, it would heal faster if he just favored it and didn't push himself so hard. The only reason he wasn't recovered was that he hadn't changed his schedual or taken time off, just went about his classes as normal, doing what he could to move normally. It hadn't really been a problem after the first week and was only a minor irritation now.

Iruka sighed again, glancing at the clock. It was nearing midnight – Iruka had the last shift tonight – and he was only waiting for one last report before he could go home and collapse. The report was due more than three hours ago, but the silver-haired ninja turning it in was famous for doing this. Iruka was lucky enough to never have been kept late waiting for the jounin, but it looked like tonight might be the night. Five to midnight and the door swung open on silent hinges. "Finally," Iruka muttered, reaching for the pen he'd need to file the paper away.

"You were waiting for me?"

Iruka blinked at the man in the doorway. That was not Kakashi. "Rinshi? What are you doing here?"

The man smiled and walked over to the desk. "Wanted to talk to you. Why are you here so late?" Iruka muttered something about incourageable jounin with horrid punctuality and Rinshi laughed. "Yeah, Kakashi's a freaky one all right. Damn good ninja, though. You know, he won't show up if the desk's officially closed, you may as well just leave and let first shift deal with it in the morning."

Iruka shook his head, glancing at the clock again. "He's always here before the shift is over, but it's usually just a few seconds before midnight. I've heard horror stories from other chunin about being kept hours after just to make sense of his jumbled reports. Never had the pleasure myself, until now."

Rinshi laughed for a moment before just smiling at Iruka. "Well then we have a couple minutes before he shows up. I wanted to ask you something." Iruka made a 'go on' noise. "Mizuki was telling me about . . . about how you got hurt a couple weeks ago." Iruka felt himself pale and began shuffling papers again to cover it. "I was wondering if what he said was true."

Iruka was quiet for a moment. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering and asked in a quiet voice. "What, exactly, did he tell you?"

Rinshi smiled, looking Iruka up and down like a wolf. "That you were having fun before it got out of hand. That's why you didn't want to see a real medic." Iruka didn't say anything and Rinshi's smile grew. "It is true, isn't it?"

Iruka's eyes suddenly snapped up, pinning the jounin in place. "And if it was? What would you do?"

Rinshi stepped around the desk, knealing and pulling at the teacher's shirt. "I'd want to join in." He paused and looked up at Iruka seriously. "If I follow the rules, would you let me?"

"Rules?" Iruka managed to squeak.

"Not to hurt you, of course. And not to do anything that could get you into trouble, with the hokage or the school."

Iruka bit his tongue gently, mind working quickly to sort through this. If he said no . . . what would Mizuki do, or Rinshi himself? He had to think of his students, too, Naruto especially was coming to depend on him. And he owed Rinshi his life. Carefully he nodded his consent – and nearly bit through his tongue when the other man's fingers stroked down his side, loosening the hem of his pants.

Iruka jumped a foot when the door opened again on silent hinges. His cheeks were set ablaze in a blush that would have made him clearly visible even in pitch darkness as he watched Hatake Kakashi saunter into the room, thick stack of papers carried in one hand, bright yellow book held close to his nose in the other. He paused halfway to the desk and peered over Icha Icha Tactics at the bright red teacher. He leaned slightly to one side, gazing at Rinshi's just visible feet around the leg of the desk. The man's voice floated up from the area of Iruka's navel, making the teacher blush even more. "It's not what you're thinking, you pervert. I'm checking on an injury."

The masked ninja stepped closer, now peering over the desk at the top of Rinshi's head. The man had one hand holding up Iruka's shirt, the other lightly poking some bandages on his side. Kakashi just quirked his visible eyebrow. "I'm sure," he muttered, turning on his heel. "I'll turn this in tomorrow, then. You owe me some sake!"

Rinshi didn't remove his hands, stroking down Iruka's ribs gently. "Figures, the one time we're expecting that bastard but don't want him here and he actually shows up."

"S-stop," Iruka muttered, cheeks still crimson.

Rinshi ignored him, gently unzipping his pants and working one hand between his legs. "Relax, now that he _has_ come and gone, we know for a fact we have this place to ourselves until first shift shows up in six hours." Iruka wrapped shaking hands around Rinshi's wrists, but hesitated. _This is what you get when you fight_. He didn't resist as Rinshi licked at him cautiously. "Don't be afraid, Iruka. I'm not going to hurt you. You'll even enjoy it. I promise, all right?" Glancing up at the teacher, he closed his mouth around just the head, making a quick 'hmm' question. Iruka's back arched suddenly, a small cry of pleasure coming from him and Rinshi smiled. Certainly looked like a yes to him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N : **See what I mean about Rinshi? Well, this shows his bad side some. And now you understand what I mean about torturing Kakashi this time around. I mean, It's gotta be hard for Iruka, but at least he knows what's going on. Ka-kun keeps picking up just bits of information and he's pretty lost. Tee hee, I'm so cruel. Also, appologies for making Hiashi out of character. He might not be, he might be partly in character, I don't know. I can't write Hyugas very well. Anyway, thakies! Review please


	6. Age 22 Blank eyes and Blood

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** Wow, a little low on the reviews. Glad to see you back Riely, I'm sorry technology hates you so much. And much love to my worshiper, SM, and you too Mo. Why, My Sweet Shadow, you've caught up with me! Now you have to wait for the updates like everyone else – BWAHAHHAHAA! Seriously though, thanks for the great input you've given. Most people (including me) don't review every chapter if the story is already done, it was a refreshing break! Seems I've lost anon, though, that's too bad. He's probably off doing school or work or womething equally dreary. Thank you to all the rest of my readers, even if you don't review. I'm still plagued with school (so mind-numbing) as you can tell from this going up on Wednesday, two whole days late. I'll still try to post on time, but really, there's little hope. I liked the flashback in last chapter, having Kakashi sort of there just seemed so . . . perfect. Poor man, I'm being so cruel to him. It's not Iruka's fault, really! Anyway, I think that was it, so I'll stop babbling and let you enjoy the story!

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 22 -o-o-o-

Iruka gasped in pain, feeling the blade slip into his thigh. The woman above him cursed, pulling back quickly. In less than a second, a cloth was pushed against the wound. "Are you all right?"

Iruka forced himself not to grind his teeth together. "Leave it."

Hotarou Hyuga blinked at him. "Are you serious? I'm taking you to a medic-"

"Get out of here!" The woman blinked pale eyes at him again. Iruka sat up, pushing her hands aside and taking the cloth himself. He stifled a curse, realizing it was his discarded vest, now he'd need to buy another. "I said leave!"

Hotarou narrowed her eyes at the chunin and stepped towards the window. "I'll send someone-"

"What would Hiashi say?" Hotarou froze, pale eyes widening at the question. Mizuki's voice echoed through Iruka's head, _What would your students say? The Hyugas, the Aburames?_ Iruka forced his voice to obey him, spitting death at the woman above him. "If you tell anyone, I will make sure he knows everything that happened tonight."

For a long moment both of them were silent, staring at each other. Finally Hotarou stepped to the open window, glaring at the teacher. "If you want to lay here and bleed to death, that's your choice. I offered to help, you just remember that."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Neji had been curious when one of the elder Hyugas had slunk from the compound in the dead of night. It was mere chance that he'd seen her, but once he had he was moving. In his mind he told himself it was a chance to practice his stealth training. Stalking his family members was the best way to improve his skills, he'd discovered. Still, despite all his justifications, it was curiosity spurring him on more than anything else.

When the elder slipped through a window, Neji frowned, activating the Byakugan and creeping closer on a nearby rooftop. He'd very nearly been sick at what he saw. Neji closed his eyes on pure instinct, but the images still leaked through. His hands fisted in his clothing, not wanting to be witness to this.

Then it all stopped, very suddenly. Neji focused more closely, staring in shock at the blood trickling down his teacher's leg. The two adults had a brief argument and Neji valiantly wished his ears were as sharp as his eyes. Then the elder Hyuga was moving and Neji huddled close to the wall of the roof, hoping not to be seen.

Inside the apartment, Iruka was moving again. He pulled himself to one side, not using his legs as he moved. He quickly rifled through his weapons pouch, pulling something into his hands. Neji watched in fascination as the man pulled out a kunai and a slip of paper. Was that an exploding tag? Well, that was one way of getting help, he supposed. The thought was barely out of his head when Iruka twisted, hurling the kunai out his window.

Shocked, Neji sprinted towards the projectile. It hit the ground with a bang and a cloud of smoke. Neji stooped, scooping up the kunai to look at it without stopping. He dropped off the roof into an alley, not slowing his pace until he was far enough away not to be picked up by the patrolling ninja that would have been drawn by the blast. Another slip of paper was attached to the weapon and Neji unfurled it to reveal a single word. One name: Rinshi.

Neji frowned more, scanning the village with the Byakugan still activated. Rinshi was a jounin, a tall, strong ninja that should live nearby, if he remembered correctly. Locating the house, Neji took off at a run again, neatly dropping through the window of the ground level home. He gasped, startled as a heavy arm settled across his chest, the cold tip of a kunai brushing his throat.

Rinshi stilled, blinking at the boy he'd just pinned to the wall. "You're an academy student."

Neji blinked, struggling to calm his breath again. "Iruka needs you," was all he muttered.

Rinshi's head dropped and he released the boy, already moving towards the door at a quick pace. "Shit."

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka was propped vaguely against the wall when Rinshi landed on the window. One look at the teacher's wound and he cursed again, crouching quickly beside him. "You need to go to a medic, 'Ruka."

The chunin glared at him. "If I wanted a medinin, I would have put their name on the paper or called the ANBU here."

"I can't heal this! Iruka-"

Iruka's face fell slightly with an obvious grimace. He mumbled in a much smaller voice, "I've nearly stopped the bleeding. Can you please . . . just . . ."

"Bleeding isn't the issue! There's muscle damage here, and tendons!" The cut was on his inner thigh, close to the junction of his hip and deep. "This is too serious to treat with field care if you want to keep that leg. This is why you need to be careful with knife play. I don't use blades with you and you shouldn't let someone else either."

Iruka's eyes fell shut, his brow knitted in concentration. "It wasn't her fault. Please Rinshi, just . . . try. I'm not incompetent, I can help with the healing myself. I _can_ control my chakra-"

Rinshi made a frustrated noise and pressed their makeshift cloth firmly into the wound. Iruka stuttered to a halt, choking on a groan of pain that he couldn't quite stifle. "This is _serious_, 'Ruka. If you won't let me take you to the hospital, I'm at least putting in for some leave time. No missions, no teaching, at least a week. Maybe more, I'll have to see."

Iruka leaned his head back against the wall, staring slightly at the older man. After a moment, defeated, he shut his eyes and nodded. Rinshi pulled away the vest-made-rag and looked closer at the wound. The bleeding had slowed somewhat, but there was a lot of damage to the tissue itself and it would not be easy to fix. He would have pushed the issue further, but the look on Iruka's face told him it was a bad idea. It spoke volumes that the teacher had even consented to the leave time; he had to be in a lot of pain. With a heartfelt sigh, Rinshi upended the field kit he'd brought and began routing through the contents.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Iruka shuffled towards the academy, bone weary and more than physically exhausted. His mind was a shambles, his emotions were frayed badly. He had not intended his meeting with the Hyugas to go how it had. He'd made the decision a long time ago that if one of the higher ranking clans found out about his past, he would talk to Tsunade and let the hokage deal with it as she saw fit. If that meant telling the clan leader everything, that was fine, but Iruka had never intended to do it himself.

They'd insulted Kakashi. Worse, they'd insulted his judgment for trusting Kakashi. And Hotarou had just been sitting there, frowning at him.

The rumors around Kakashi were well known. Iruka had heard them all from his students and the other teachers. Of course, his father. It wasn't his fault in the slightest, but Kakashi bore a lot of stigma because of the man. It wasn't even fair, Iruka wasn't the only shinobi in the village that would call the passed Hatake a hero. And the fiasco that had cost Kakashi his teammates. Damnit, he'd even been the _victim_ of that one and it had affected him so profoundly to lose his only real friend at the time. It had changed him for the better, but somehow the gossip mongers didn't see that. And almost no one in the village approved of his teaching methods, Iruka had been part of that group himself until he saw just how effective said training could be.

The rumors didn't end. A lot of people blamed Kakashi for Sasuke's defection. Not to his face, of course, but in dark bars around drained sake bottles. He'd picked up the stigma from being associated with the kyuubi-child as well, something Iruka was familiar with himself. And those were just the rumors that made _sense_. He was a vampire – it explained the pale skin and the mask to hide his fangs. He was in fact an enemy spy – he always was wandering around where you didn't expect him to be and who _knew_ what he did in those hours between when he was supposed to show up and when he actually did. Hell, there were even rumors out there that Hatake Kakashi didn't even exist, it was another shinobi in disguise (the most common theory was either Tsunade or Jiraiya, the latter certainly explained why he constantly toted those god awful books around).

Iruka had been prepared for an attack against himself. He knew exactly how to explain himself – _without_ giving _nearly_ as much information as he did. He had no idea how to defend his choice of partner. And apparently his way of defending Kakashi himself was to yell and scream and get so worked up that he lost nearly all control of what came out of his mouth at all. And, of course, once Hiashi had started asking him direct questions, there was nothing left to do but explain himself fully to the other man and pray he wouldn't be punished too badly for it.

_No, damnit, what happened in the past wasn't your fault. There was little to nothing you could have done then or now, stop blaming yourself!_

Iruka chuckled a little despite himself. The tiny voice in his head that told him everything he knew to be true but never really admitted sounded distinctly like his tousle-haired lover. It used to sound like his sensei.

Iruka slid open the door to his classroom and paused, staring openly at the room's sole occupant. The man looked up at him quickly before ducking his head again to stare intently at the floor. He mumbled a 'hey' that was barely loud enough to hear.

Iruka's lips slowly split into a grin and he stepped properly into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Rinshi, I haven't seen you in months. How are you?"

The other's face twitched as if in pain before settling more firmly into a frown. He spoke to the floor, not raising his eyes at all. "I'm sorry, 'Ruka."

The teacher's smile didn't falter. "Are you staying for class? Honestly I'm surprised I haven't seen you here already, practically every jounin in the village has been here at least twice for my lessons."

Rinshi finally looked up, his face a mix of exhaustion and misery. "How can you do this, Iruka? How can you stand there and talk to me as if nothing happened?" Iruka's smile faded, but he didn't look angry or upset as Rinshi continued. "You've always done this, too. You never treated me as anything other than a friend, even when I was . . ."

"It's not as if you knew what was going on-"

"But that's the thing! I did know! Maybe I hadn't figured out all the details, but I knew _something_ was wrong and I didn't even try to find out what."

Iruka's breath was coming faster, a slight frown pulling at his lips. "Rinshi, stop. You saved my life. More than once! You kept my secret and I _know_ you hunted down more than one person that actually did hurt me."

"I was doing the same to Kakashi, too, until he scared some sense into me. Not that I could have taken him . . . 'Ruka that's beside the point. What I did wasn't _right_. It wasn't even close to right. I could have helped you so much more, I could have stopped it all. Damnit I wasn't even one of the good ones, more than one of those scars is _from_ me!"

Iruka closed his eyes for a moment, fighting to stop his lip from trembling the way it was. "No, you weren't one of the good ones. But you never risked my life and you _did_ try to protect me."

Rinshi slid off the desk he'd been sitting on and took a hesitant step towards Iruka. "How can you just forgive me, just like that? If it were me, I'd have my ass thrown in jail right beside the bastard that started it all. Tell me what I can do to make this better, please."

Iruka met his eyes evenly, small smile lighting up his features again. "If you didn't feel badly, it would be different. If you felt no guilt about it at all . . . but you do. Why should I punish you when you're doing a rather marvelous job of punishing yourself. If I hated you, there are nearly thirty others I'd have to hate too. Some of those men and women have died to protect this village. Would you have me dishonor their memories by spiting their names?" Rinshi looked about ready to collapse onto the floor. His eyes were puffy and his face was somewhat redder than usual, almost as if he were about to cry. Iruka's smile didn't falter as the door slid open behind him, Genma and Raidou entering the room. The teacher looked over his shoulder at the two. "Others are good people who honestly didn't know they were doing wrong."

"Kakashi figured it out. Someone should have a lot sooner. I should have-"

Iruka turned back to look at him, declaring the conversation officially over with a quick change of subject. "I'm glad you chose today to join the class, Rinshi-kun. I've been wanting to teach Mizuki's knot and-"

The larger man blanched, nearly toppling to the ground in shock. "You want to _what?_ You can't honestly want me to-"

Iruka smoothly interrupted the outburst. "I know Mizuki taught it to you and I need to show both sides of it. I can teach everyone how to impose it easily, but I'd rather not have a novice tying my hands so I can show the escape. It's too complicated, too easy to make a mistake, and if I teach it poorly then the lesson is wasted."

Rinshi blinked helplessly at Iruka, then at the two other jounin as they went about rearranging the desks and setting up supplies for the lessons. Somewhere along the line, he thought dismally, this world got turned inside out and upside down with neon orange and day glow yellow paint thrown on everything just for good measure. Surely that was the only way any of this would make sense. And as he set about helping the others transform the classroom he found himself looking at Iruka, beaming in the center of it all. Someone so pure and innocent, somehow completely untouched by everything that had happened to him. How could a man like this exist in the same world as Rinshi himself and people far worse? Was this some cruel fate putting such a perfect lamb in a village of ugly, bloodthirsty tigers? Or was it a hope, the one good person left, striving to be an example to the rest of these relentless killers? Rinshi rubbed his head slightly, questioning his entire outlook and life. Fate, hope, or pure chance, the impact Iruka had sure was powerful as all Hell.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kakashi had fully intended to show up to Iruka's class on time. Well, ten, maybe fifteen minutes late – on time for him. He was shocked, therefore, when he looked up at the sky to note the time and realized he was already more than a half-hour late. He'd spent the afternoon at the memorial stone and hadn't even gone to the missions desk. He hadn't been there yesterday, either. Slowly he pushed himself up onto his feet, numbly rubbing at his uncovered eye. With a start he realized he'd have to go back to his apartment before going anywhere else, to wash his face if nothing else. Iruka's Saturday class usually ran a few hours, it would be all right.

He was almost an hour late when he finally arrived at the classroom. He paused outside the window, listening to Iruka's chipper voice as he went over how to implement certain escape techniques. Kakashi slid the window open, slipping inside as quietly as possible. If he just kept to the back of the room, he could avoid a lecture and-

Kakashi's train of thought screeched to a halt and he froze as two projectiles sailed toward his head. Kakashi didn't move, looking at Iruka as the teacher glared. "When using projectiles," the teacher growled, "you have to remember not to aim at the person themselves. You must anticipate where they may dodge and aim at that spot." The twenty odd gathered shinobi kept completely silent, not commenting on the fact that Iruka had changed topic mid sentence. No one mentioned that the teacher was now lecturing a room full of elite ninja on a topic he taught to eight year olds. Kakashi, too, kept his mouth shut, stealing glances at the kunai buried hilt deep on either side of his head. "You must remember, too, not to dodge such attacks until you're certain you know where they are going to strike. If you dodge too soon, you'll step right into the weapon of any good shinobi."

The teacher strode forward, reminding Kakashi of a predator stalking his prey. He smiled, showing a few too many teeth and Kakashi repressed a shiver, smiling back instead. "I'm actually very glad you're here, Kakashi. May I see your hands, please?"

For a moment, Kakashi considered refusing. The way Iruka was smiling was just . . . wrong. But it _was_ Iruka. Slowly he held his hands up. Iruka lifted his own hands, a length of rope held taut between them, and began winding the cord between the masked man's fingers. "I want you all to see how effective this can be," Iruka said to the class. "I'll go over this knot with each of you while Kakashi-san tries to get out of this." He turned back to Kakashi, grinning that predatory smile again. "Remember, this is a simulation. You can't use your weapons or anything else that may be taken from you if you were captured."

Kakashi nodded slightly, watching as Iruka gathered the rest of the shinobi in the front of the room, away from him. He glared at his hands, looking at the knot carefully. How in the world did Iruka expect him to overcome it with no warning? He knew Iruka had figured it out three years ago or so, but he had no idea how long it had taken him. Ah, but Iruka didn't really expect him to counter it at all, he was an example of the knot's effectiveness. Kakashi leaned back against the wall, starting at the rope grudgingly.

At the front of the class, Iruka was going over the knot with the jounin, correcting mistakes as each shinobi tied another's hands and subsequently had his own tied until Iruka and Rinshi were the only ones free. "What would this be used for, exactly? It seems to take too long to be effective against an enemy," Kurenai asked, already struggling to free her hands.

Raidou stared first at his own hands, then at Genma, struggling with his own ropes. "I don't know, I can think of a few uses right now."

Iruka rolled his eyes. "It isn't practical for a fighting opponent, but if you need to subdue an enemy and your team can grapple him for a few moments it can be very useful. It's also very good to bind a subdued enemy for questioning when they wake up. It blocks common escape techniques as well as almost all jutsu. It you were to get a village leader in this knot, even they would have difficulty undoing it. Of course, at that level they have other methods to escape."

Sato, a jounin Iruka only knew through the class, looked up at that. "Like what?"

Iruka paused a minute in thought. "Well, Tsunade herself could just flex and snap the ropes, I'm sure. But beyond that, this can't completely block things like summoning jutsus." Iruka suddenly whirled on Kakashi. "Keep Pakkun out of this, I want them to see how long it takes you." Kakashi had his thumb almost to his mask, ready to summon the pug at Iruka's suggestion. Slowly he lowered his hands, glaring at the rope again.

Iruka held his hands out to Rinshi, the man obediently starting to tie him. "I'll show you all the trick to getting out of this, but I want you to be careful. It can be hard and it's surprisingly easy to break a finger." His head dropped a fraction, "Believe me, and a broken finger will only make it harder to free yourself." The teacher shook his head, focusing on his hands again. He moved slowly, twisting his wrists in several directions that looked quite painful until one thumb was free. The jounin surrounding him were completely captivated, watching at the teacher worked off the rest of the ropes. More than one impressed whistle came from the group and Iruka was certain they would have applauded if they'd been able. Blushing slightly at the praise, Iruka repeated the demonstration, this time with his hands bound behind him. Free once more, he smiled at the jounin. "Rinshi knows this knot from the same person who showed me, he'll watch and make sure you don't hurt yourselves." Then the teacher turned, walking over again to Kakashi.

The silver haired man arched an eyebrow. "You know, if I wanted I could just sharingan you or one of them and be out of this in a second."

Iruka just shook his head. He looked tired, Kakashi thought. "Yes, but then you couldn't claim figuring it out on your own."

Behind the mask, Kakashi's lips drew into a thin line. "You know I wouldn't care about that. How did you first get out of this, Iruka?"

A dark look passed through the teacher's eyes and Kakashi bit his tongue in lieu of kicking himself. There he went, saying the wrong thing _again_. "Necessity is the mother of invention," Iruka muttered, barely above a whisper. "I had to free myself without help, so I did."

Kakashi couldn't help but drop his eyes before he quickly caught the action, meeting Iruka's gaze steadily, almost pleading. "Help me out, Iru-chan. I don't know what I'm doing here."

Iruka hesitated before reaching for Kakashi's hands. "If you focus on the thumbs, you'll see how to get them free. You still can't form any hand seals, but-"

Kakashi hooked his bound wrists around Iruka's hand, the only way he could grab the other, and didn't let his gaze drop. "I wasn't talking about the ropes, Iruka."

For a moment the teacher rested his hand on Kakashi's chest. "I know." He pulled away slowly, his eyes hardening. "Do you even know his name, Kakashi?" The taller man cursed silently, he'd meant to find that out today too. "Tohiro," Iruka answered his own question. "He's a good man and a wonderful teacher. He teaches the first year classes, the students that have just come to academy." His eyes darkened further and he corrected the statement. "Taught. He may not be able to come back."

"Iruka, I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose." That was just wonderful, the man was a colleague, that just made it so much worse. "I screwed up, I know that. Tell me what to do and I'll do it. If you'd just talk to me about what's happened in the past-"

"I don't give details to anyone, you know that."

Kakashi frowned angrily at him, snippets of his conversation with Hiashi floating through his head. "Then how the hell am I supposed to keep from hurting you?"

Their voices were rising, neither of them noticing the silence coming from the shinobi across the room. Iruka glared at the taller man. "Why does that have to be an issue? I'm not glass, Kakashi, I'm not going to break!"

"I'm not saying you will, Iruka, but-"

"The great Hatake Kakashi, man of a thousand jutsus, genius with the sharingan eye. That doesn't make you invincible, Kakashi, and it doesn't make you strong. You could never deal with my kids, let alone some of the other things . . ." Iruka raked a hand through his hair, sweeping back the few stray strands that had escaped his ponytail. After a moment he looked up again. "Don't come by tonight," he said, much calmer than he'd been a moment earlier.

Kakashi's jaw was tight, it was taking far too much effort to control himself looking into those smoldering eyes. He twisted slightly, hands dipping into his weapons pouch. When he pulled his hands out with a jerk, the rope had been sliced and he turned, making a path for the window, dropping the tattered strands as he went. Iruka turned back to the gathered jounin, barely noticing as they all very quickly busied themselves, struggling to get free of their bonds. Those that had managed it already quickly turned to help others, not daring to look at Iruka as he stalked back through the crowd.

Genma was still struggling with his bonds while Raidou tried to 'help', mostly giving poor advice in the hopes of using the technique later. Both men paused as Iruka neared them and Raidou abandoned his play. "Iruka," he whispered, "you want to talk about it?"

Iruka shook his head sharply. "Genma, you're going about that all wrong."

The bound jounin glared at his partner briefly before looking at Iruka. "After class?" Iruka ignored the question for a moment, picking at Genma's ropes. He gave up after a moment, quickly undoing it all together and retying it properly. Genma just watched him, "Iruka?"

The teacher paused again, then nodded slightly. "We can talk after class."

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N 2: **Now you know how Neji learns the truth. And Kakashi poots his foot in his mouth. Again. Not that Iruka is making it easy for him. Hopefully Genma and Raidou can help our favorite teacher through it. And Kakashi gets some good advice too next chapter. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble writing all the advisors and therefore struggling some with the scenes. Sigh. It should be okay though, I should get that up by next Monday at the latest. So review! Reviews inspire me, honest, so show me some love here! Or at least read and enjoy. I live for this and I love satisfying your story cravings.


	7. Age 23 Never Alone

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2:** Yay reviews! Ask and I shall receive, I guess. Thank you all so much!! Woah, ff has a new layout. Cool. Anyway, to my regulars (new and old) Hello! I shake you warmly by the hand! My sweet shadow, KAT, Mo, warui and monkey pjs, you all know I love you. And Alana, llyoung(sorry bout the nightmares, but thanks for the compliment), TIA and jackel! So good to see you as well. Wait, I've missed someone. Oh, SilverRose! How can I forget my poor addicted fan? Special thanks to KAT, that line about the taste of sandals inspired a line while he's getting advice. Anyway, on to the story. Some of that awkward Iruka returns (I missed him too warui) and the mystery of Kakashi's advisor is revealed. Think about who Kakashi normally interacts with and might trust enough to talk to. Then remember that it can't be Obito because Kakashi isn't the one doing most of the talking. Then give up and just go read it, I'm sure you'll all think it terribly obvious once you see it.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Genma sat at the small booth, rubbing his wrists idly. He never had gotten the trick of escaping that knot and he was certain Raidou was going to take full advantage of that later. Iruka sat across from him, both arms on the table and leaning forward heavily. Raidou approached the table with a tray, several parfaits balanced upon it. The one with the most hot fudge was placed in front of Iruka as the other man sat. "So, what's going on?"

Iruka reached almost blindly for his spoon, trailing it through the chocolate but not bringing it to his mouth. "I didn't mean to yell at him like that."

"But you did," Genma said very matter-of-factly.

"And he did deserve it," Raidou added helpfully.

Iruka just shook his head. "I've had a hard day, he didn't deserve to have me take that out on him." He pulled the spoon to his mouth, licking at the ice cream thoughtfully. "He just makes me so frustrated . . ."

The other two men looked at each other. Finally Raidou leaned closer to the teacher. "What does he do that bothers you so much?" Iruka shook his head and Raidou continued in a whisper. "Is he good in bed?"

At this, Iruka flushed scarlet, ducking his head to avoid looking at his friend. "Yes. I mean, of course. He's sweet and he'd never hurt me."

"That's not what I asked. I asked if he's good in bed." Iruka's blush deepened and he nodded slightly.

Genma scooted around the booth, leaning towards Iruka from the side. "What about me?"

"That's different, the conditions were . . . completely different."

Genma didn't move. "But despite all that, you have said you enjoyed that night."

Iruka buried his face in his hands. "This is not what I had in mind when I agreed to come out with you two."

Genma seemed completely nonplussed. "Between him and me, who's better?"

Iruka looked up, horrified. "I'm not going to-"

Raidou's hand clamped over the teacher's mouth and he shushed him. "Iruka, quiet, we're in public here." He removed his hand, but the teacher kept silent. "Have some faith, Iruka, we actually have a reason for this."

"You actually have a reason for comparing . . . him and . . ." he trailed off, unable to say the words aloud now that the shock had passed.

Raidou leaned back, starting on his own dessert. "You know, Genma is a real idiot sometimes." The other man glared with a slight 'hey', but Raidou ignored him. "He'll piss me off, or bug me when I'm still in mission mode; sometimes he just plain bugs me. You want to know how I deal with it?"

Without waiting for an answer, Raidou leaned towards his boyfriend, pinning him to the booth in a deep kiss. Iruka gaped at them, desperately trying to look away but completely unable as the two men proceeded to lick the back of each other's throats. After a _very_ long minute, Raidou pulled away, smiling and looking completely satisfied. Iruka, finally able to look away, buried his face in both hands. "Not everything can be solved with sex."

Raidou just blinked at him. "Who said anything about sex? You'd be surprised what a good long kiss can solve. And you obviously don't get enough of them, what with that idiot and his mask."

Iruka kept his face hidden. "All right, fine. But what does that have to do with comparing Kakashi and Genma?"

It was Genma to speak this time, his voice drawing Iruka's eyes up again. "Well, nothing really."

"What? Then why-"

"Calm down, I had a reason for asking. But if you can't relax enough to kiss him, you'll never be able to answer my next question."

"I just said sex doesn't-"

Genma shook his head quickly. "Not sex, let me finish." Iruka obediently stared at him. "I want you to think about Kakashi and how you feel when you're together. Then I want you to think about what you want out of this relationship; don't tell me, just think about it."

Iruka opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. Slowly his eyes became thoughtful, as he looked inward. Raidou popped another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, speaking around the spoon. "Do you want a savior, a boyfriend, a fuck buddy? In the end, what you want is most important here. Since you're fairly new at this, it's completely understandable, but you haven't noticed how Kakashi feels either, have you?"

Iruka stared openly and opened his mouth to ask something, but Genma spoke first. "No, Iruka, we aren't going to tell you how he feels. Not until you figure out what _you_ want." He sighed deeply, looking away suddenly. "It won't be easy, you're going to have to go through a lot of your past to figure it out."

Raidou reached over, brushing a hand against Iruka's arm. "We're right here to help you figure it out, all right?"

Iruka's eyes were down turned again, already thinking about what this meant. Distantly he nodded, smiling slightly at the other two men.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kakashi blinked dazedly at the clouds above him. After a moment, a shadow walked over to him, blocking some of the sunlight glinting into his eyes. "My Honorable Rival! Is something the matter?"

Kakashi just blinked again, now staring at the clouds past Gai's bowl cut. "What makes you say that?"

Gai wrinkled his brow, staring down at the man on his back. "Kakashi, my Hip and Modern friend, you just flew about ten yards from my attack. I know how you fight, you could have avoided that move without a thought. I already had the counter attack ready!"

Kakashi sat up, bending at the waist without moving otherwise, and looked up at Gai again. "Maybe I'm a little distracted."

"It is a Disgrace to your Honorable and Youthful spirit! You shouldn't have accepted my challenge if you had no intention of fighting seriously. It moves me to Manly Tears!"

Kakashi stayed where he was, staring at the mighty blue beast blankly. "You do remember that your challenge was issued only a few seconds before your first attack?"

Gai seemed stunned at that, blinking down at the other. It was true, but that was how most of their little battles started, it had never affected the fight in the past. "What is bothering you, oh Worthy Rival."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "Somehow I doubt you could help."

The last lingering bit of Gai's smile faded and he knelt slowly beside the pale jounin. "Kakashi, tell me what is bothering you." When the masked man stayed quiet, Gai wrinkled his brow in a little frown and plowed ahead. "Is it a mission? No, you could never be so despondent about a mission." There was a brief pause. "You've done something to Iruka!"

Kakashi blinked, completely caught off guard by the accusation. "_I_ did something?"

Kakashi blinked again, blindsided as the taijutsu master suddenly caught him up in a hug. "You must have upset him and been dumped! Such a crushing blow for someone so Hip and-"

Kakashi twisted, not freeing himself from the bear hug, but somehow managing to clamp one hand over his rival's mouth. "Gai," he choked out. "Please stop." The larger man straightened his arms, holding Kakashi partly away from him. Kakashi, for his part, kept his hand where it was. Unfortunately, this meant that he either had to start talking himself, relinquish his hold and be subjected to god knew how many speeches about youth and beauty, or stay in this hold for the rest of eternity, because once Maito Gai had set his sights on talking to you, there was no getting him to quit, even for sleep. "Iruka didn't . . . dump me . . . exactly."

Gai's posture changed, relaxing slightly at the statement, awkward though it was. He mumbled something that sounded vaguely dramatic, but with Kakashi's hand still firmly in place, the words themselves couldn't be made out. Kakashi sighed, absolutely certain he'd regret it as he lowered his arm. Gai was silent for a moment before repeating himself. "If he didn't dump you, what could be bothering you so badly as to Ruin your Manly-" Kakashi replaced his hand, rolling his eyes in mild pain.

"Please, Gai. We're just having . . ."

Gai pulled back an inch, reaching up and moving Kakashi's hand himself. He was oddly subdued, gazing at the other seriously. "Kakashi, tell me what has happened."

The masked man felt his eyes drop, the weight of the day dragging them down. After another minute of silence, he finally muttered to the ground, "I screwed up."

Gai blinked at him silently for a minute. "Care to be a little more specific?"

"I keep hurting him. And I'm getting tired of the taste of leather."

"Ah, yes, and poor Tohiro-"

"That wasn't my fault!" Kakashi sighed, gathering his thoughts. "That wasn't my fault, but yes, things like that. And as if that weren't bad enough, he thinks I see him as weak when the truth is _anything_ but." He sighed again, throwing himself backwards onto the grass again. "You can see why I don't think you'll really be of much help here."

"It may be true I am less knowledgeable in the area of romance than you, my rival. That does not mean I am ignorant of all the problems facing you and the young sensei." Gai paused, apparently for dramatic affect, before leaning back on his elbows to gaze at the clouds as well. "You say you don't think of him as weak, but how do you _treat_ him?"

"I don't want to hurt him if that's what you mean. I try to avoid talking about things that upset him, I avoid places that . . ." Kakashi stopped, turning his head to look at Gai. He'd nearly forgotten whom he was talking to here. "I try not to hurt him."

The mighty beast didn't move, still staring at the sky evenly. "Have you given a thought that it may not be fair to Iruka to do that?"

"What are you talking about, Gai?"

"Iruka is strong. Far, far stronger than he's usually given credit for. Is it fair to him to keep treating him as if he's going to break? You want to protect him, a truly Wondrous expression of your Manly Love . . . but what are you missing out on? What are you depriving him of?" Kakashi was silent, staring at the man in wonder. Just how much did Gai know? He was strange beyond description, and obsessed in more ways than one, but he was a jounin and a teacher himself, tied to the school for years. Was it even possible? "You should know as well as anyone that wounds don't heal by ignoring them, they only grow worse. You want to protect him, and that is more than a Worthy cause. But everyone treats him gently when you are the one person that shouldn't. You should be helping him heal, Kakashi, no matter what you _think_ you need to do."

"Gai . . ."

The spandex-clad man jumped to his feet, all his blinding enthusiasm returning, just as strong as it usually was. "You must resolve this Horrible Miss-step and reunite with your True Love!"

"Who said anything about love-"

"Correct this imbalance and regain your Youthful Spirit! Repair the damage to you Soul as well as you technique!"

Kakashi flipped to his feet. He waved a goodbye to the man with one hand, rubbed his forehead lightly with the other, and tuned out his voice as he started walking away. That man could be amazingly sharp some days. Really, looking at him and how he normally acted, one would never guess. Sometime Kakashi would have to sit him down and find out if he actually knew about Iruka's past or if he was just damn lucky when giving his Inspiring Speeches.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 23 -o-o-o-

Iruka sat at his desk, quietly taking role as his students trudged in for the day's classes. He smiled at them one at a time; Hinata, all quiet blushes, ducked her head in a quick greeting as she hurried to her seat, Kaori and Ino were talking loudly as they entered, Sasuke's name coming up more than once, the young Uchiha entered a few minutes later in all his brooding glory. Naruto bounced into the classroom and straight to Iruka's desk, talking a mile a minute about the start of summer vacation. Iruka had to remind him twice that the school year didn't end for another month and that he _should_ be spending his vacation preparing for his next year, if he wanted to graduate with the rest of his class.

He nearly missed Kiba entering the classroom, eyes locked onto Iruka's form. The teacher looked up and smiled and Kiba immediately scampered to his seat. Iruka frowned slightly at the boy. "Is something wrong, Kiba-san?" The Inuzuka hesitated a minute, before looking away, shaking his head frantically. Iruka's frown deepened a little. "Just try and stay awake through class, all right?"

As the teacher stood to begin the lesson, Kiba settled his chin onto his desk, never taking his eyes off the man. This was the second morning this week Iruka had smelled so strongly of soap and with only one day in between. The wild boy idly stroked his tiny pup, still soundly asleep inside his coat. The strange scent had bothered Akamaru first and Kiba had started noticing it not much later. Every now and then, when Kiba came in for class, Iruka smelled like soap. Sometimes, like this week, for several days in a row or with only a brief pause between.

Kiba sighed, lost in his thoughts and paying no attention to the lecture at all. Something was going on, but he had no idea what it was, and he didn't know how to figure it out. They'd had a review of surveillance techniques not long ago, maybe Kiba could use those. He struggled to recall the various ways of doing it, but quickly gave up. Even if he could have remembered them, Iruka-sensei wouldn't be caught in something so basic. He needed some way of watching the teacher without being found out, but he also had to do it for several days; whatever was going on, it didn't happen everyday and he had no idea which day would be the next. What he needed was help.

Kiba blinked, surprised as Iruka excused the class for lunch. He'd already dreamed away the whole morning. Against his chest, Akamaru – awake for a while now – wiggled and crawled onto the desk. He stayed where he was for a moment, looking towards the front of the room. The little dog looked up at its human, whimpering slightly, and Kiba sighed again. "I know, buddy. But what am I supposed to do about it?"

The pup whimpered again before leaping off the desk with a small 'arf'. He trotted across the room, easily eluding his master as Kiba stumbled after him, and came to a stop looking up at Shino. He whined loudly, pawing gently at the boy's leg.

Shino looked down at the dog, face expressionless behind his dark glasses. "I will not get rid of your fleas for you."

"Hey! Akamaru doesn't have fleas!" Kiba growled, scratching at his own ear as he finally caught up with his four-legged companion.

Shino looked evenly at the other boy before dropping his gaze again to the small dog. "I will not get rid of your master's fleas, either."

"Hey!" Kiba bared his teeth, growling more loudly at the spectacled boy as Akamaru whined at their feet. Slowly his expression softened as he stared. "Hey, Shino. I think I got a favor to ask you."

Kiba got the distinct impression the other was rolling his eyes. "What?" he bit out.

"I need to borrow your bugs."

"Kikaichu," the young Aburame corrected automatically.

"Right, yeah, like that pokemon. I need to borrow them."

For a long moment, Shino said nothing, just staring at the boy. "Why?"

Kiba opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Quickly he glanced around the room, gauging if anyone was close enough to hear him. His eyes lingered on Iruka, bent over his desk, marking tests. He seemed to be using his red marker quite a bit and Kiba idly hoped it wasn't his test that was earning it. "I think Iruka-sensei is in trouble."

Even with the glasses, Kiba could tell Shino was blinking at him, staring like he was Naruto. "Why?" he asked again.

Kiba knelt quickly, scooping Akamaru into his arms. "He smells funny."

"Funny?"

"Yeah. Like soap. A kinda flowery smell, underneath a really strong citrus."

"Citrus?"

"Yeah, you know, like cleaners. Bleach, too."

"Bleach."

"Yes, damnit! What are you, a freaking parrot?"

Shino shifted, crossing his arms. "Has it occurred to you he may have just done his laundry?"

"Come on, Shino, give me _some_ credit. I can tell you exactly when the laundry is done for anyone in this room. Your clan does laundry every Thursday, Shikamaru's dad does it on Saturdays. I know what laundry soap smells like – this ain't it."

"Soap, citrus, and bleach. To me that sounds like laundry and cleaning. Iruka lives alone, he does all of that himself, you know."

Akamaru growled angrily at the bug user while Kiba pulled at his hair in frustration. "It's not normal, Shino. Please, I'm asking you to help me out here!"

For another long moment, Shino stayed quiet. "What do you want?"

"You can watch him. Your bugs can see what's going on. I just want to know, one way or the other, please."

Shino grudgingly nodded. "I'll have the kikaichu watch him for a week, all right?"

Kiba moved on instinct, trapping the other boy in a hug before he thought. It was natural for him as it would be for any Inuzuka. Shino, however, stiffened in the embrace, not drawing breath until Kiba pulled away from him. "Thank you, Shino. You'll see, I'm not imagining things."

-o-o-o-o-o-

By the time the weekend came around, Kiba had almost forgotten asking the quiet boy for his help. Iruka still acted perfectly normal during the days and his scent didn't seem out of place. When the Inuzuka came into the classroom Monday morning and his teacher still smelled normal, he began to lose hope that Shino would see anything. Maybe he _was_ making too much of this.

Kiba struggled to stay awake through his teacher's lecture, he really did. But Iruka covered concealment so thoroughly . . . and all that talk of controlling your breathing and subduing your chakra . . .

"Kiba Inuzuka, wake up!"

Kiba jerked, falling out of his chair at the sharp voice. From his coat, Akamaru barked and whimpered after nearly being landed on. Kiba looked up to see Iruka glowering down at him. "Ah, um, Sensei . . ."

"Can you tell me the six easiest ways to hide from your enemies?"

Kiba stuttered a moment, desperately trying to think up the answer. "Uh, chakra something and, uh . . ."

"So I'll be seeing you a half-hour early tomorrow morning for detention?"

Kiba nodded, climbing up to his feet. "Yes, Sensei." The class had let out and Kiba trudged wearily towards the door. Now he'd have to be awake that much earlier, and if he slept through it, Iruka-sensei would keep him _after_ class even longer.

"Ahem."

Kiba whirled quickly to the voice. He'd walked right past Shino without even noticing the silent boy. "Shino?" The spectacled boy gave a 'follow me' motion, turning and walking down the street. "Um, where are we going?"

"I want to talk to you in private. We're going to the Aburame compound."

Kiba stopped in his tracks. "We're going _where_?"

"We can't very well go to your clan's tents. I'd rather have this conversation behind a door that locks."

Kiba regained use of his legs and jogged to catch up with the other boy. "Um, okay. Will your dad mind me being there?"

"My father won't be home for several hours."

Kiba stumbled again, stopping just in front of the Aburame's front door. "What? Shino, if he finds out I was here-"

Shino ignored him, wrapping one hand around his wrist and dragging him the last few feet into the building. Shino toed off his shoes and waited for Kiba to do the same before speaking. "You were right."

Kiba set Akamaru gently on the floor, following as Shino led the way to a neat sitting room. "Um, right? Right about what?"

"About Iruka-sensei."

Kiba's jaw dropped. Kiba sat heavily on an overstuffed floor-cushion. "What's going on?"

Shino sat much more calmly, folding his hands carefully before opening his mouth. "Iruka-sensei had . . . relations . . . with someone Sunday night."

Kiba stared, confused. "You mean sex? That's not nearly as bad as what I was afraid was going on," he cried in relief.

Shino sighed. "No, Kiba. After, he went on some sort of cleaning spree. The kikaichu couldn't exactly give explicit details, but it didn't sound like something a willing participant would do."

For several long minutes Kiba was silent, absorbing the information. Finally he nodded, scowling. "He's being forced?"

"I can't be sure, but I think so. We need more information before we can do anything. Someone who can see what we can't."

Kiba slouched, glaring at the floor. "You want to tell Hinata-chan?"

"We need a Hyuga if we're going to help him. I just want to make sure he's not getting hurt."

Kiba didn't look up, but nodded. "We gotta figure this out, for him."

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N: **So, tell me what you think! Wow, this is turning out a bit longer than I anticipated. The chapters are a bit longer than Reputation (this is only chapter seven and it will match in word count more or less). I already knew it would be longer in word count, but I expected chapter 8 to be the last. Then here I go editing this chappie and find out it's as long as my other chapters without adding on the last section! I actually like the way that cuts it up, though, so the last section is getting delayed. 8 might still be the last one, but this is more likely to be 9 chapters. Oh well, more for you guys. BTW today's my last day of winter school, so I should be posting on time (though no gaurunties)


	8. Age 23 Angels watching over him

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2: **I'm back everyone! Sorry about the breif delay (this _was_ actually ready to post Friday) I went to Anime Los Angles – ALA to those in the know – and it messed up my schedual a bit. It's a great little con, though they really don't have any good place for pictures, sigh. Anyway, I have worked on this piece and the ending is all but done. I'll get it up on Friday without a doubt! On to reviews – of course you know I love you all. Thanks to all those out there that liked my take on Gai-sensei. I do like his character, but I have such a hard time writing him! (pulls hair out and starts ranting about 'love and youth speeches') Yeah, sweet shadow, I thought the fleas bit was too good not to put in. I actually really like that pairing, though don't be confused, in this they are just friends. If I want to pair them later, I promise I will. Good to see you back, Reily – you are so smart! Such good insight to my foreshadowing, but you have another chapter to wait, I'm afraid. Still, I think it's worth it. Anyway, I don't think I had anything else to say, so on with the story!!

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Iruka blinked open his eyes in the early dawn light. Above him, the ceiling looked plain and cold, to his right, a cool breeze was blowing through the open window. Blearily he blinked at the alarm, trying to make out the time past the cracked display. The sun was only just rising, there wasn't much point in going back to sleep. Iruka blinked at the clock for a minute longer; he didn't remember cleaning up last night . . .

Kakashi had been here. Iruka sat up slowly, looking around the room. He wondered when the man had been inside. Was it in the morning, or had he come here after Iruka had told him not to? What exactly had he been looking for? Iruka shook off the thoughts and climbed out from the sanctuary of his comforter. He didn't have time to be thinking about Kakashi and all of his oddities, we was supposed to be thinking about what he wanted.

It was Sunday and Iruka's Sundays fell into a fairly predictable pattern. Since he was up earlier than usual, he went to the memorial stone first. It wasn't part of his routine, but it was a relaxing place; Iruka hoped to clear his head and reach some sort of decision. After a while of staring at the names of lost friends, the jounin admitted to himself that he'd need significantly more help to figure things out than what he could get from a silent stone.

The missions room was mostly deserted, as it always was this early on Sunday. A couple of shinobi were leaving just as Iruka arrived. He had no classes today, so he always stopped by the desk early. That way, if they needed his help, he'd know ahead of time. Otherwise he'd take his mission and go. Kotetsu was slumped at the missions desk looking thouroghly bored as he handed a small scroll to Iruka. The teacher took it with a smile and turned back to the door as he unrolled it.

Iruka froze, looking down at the words. There was only one other person in the room – a chunin arguing with Kotetsu about his own mission. The bandadged man glanced up at Iruka's sudden lack of movement. "Something wrong? Don't tell me you're going to argue assignments, too. Look, I know there's usually a choice, but some jobs _have_ to be assigned or they wouldn't get done!"

Rolling the scroll back up, Iruka shook his head. "No, it's all right. I just wasn't expecting this particular assignment. Thank you."

Kotetsu waved a hand at the teacher, turning back to his argument with the other chunin. "Like I told him, sometimes you don't _get_ a choice."

Iruka scurried down the street, searching for a particular scarred face. He found Raidou coming out of one of the apartment complexes, yawning and stretching. He was wearing the same civilian shirt he'd had on the day before under his flak vest. "Is this where Genma lives, then?"

The taller man turned in surprise before raising a hand in greeting. "Hey Iruka. Um," he glanced over his shoulder at the building, "Yeah, third floor. What's up?"

Iruka could hardly muster the strength for a smile. He held out the mission scroll without meeting his eyes. "I got prison duty."

Raidou's eyes widened in an instant and he hissed as if in pain. "Man, what a way to end your weekend." He took the scroll, glancing over it quickly. "No one likes inspection, and most of them don't have personal reasons for avoiding that place."

Iruka nodded absently. He'd never been schedualed as a guard before because of his status as a teacher. The breakout not long ago was the first and only time Iruka had actually interacted with criminals _after_ they'd been locked away. But the inspection was different from guard duty, and it was a jounin's job. "I was hoping you could give me some advice."

Raidou handed the scroll back to him. "You want me to take it for you?"

Iruka shook his head quickly. "Just advise."

The other nodded. "Well, it's not pleasant. The most important thing to remember is not to listen to them. They're going to try and mess with you, but none of them can actually hurt you. Remember that and you can get through it."

Iruka met the other man's eyes with a halfhearted smile. "Thank you."

"You sure you don't want me to take it for you?" Iruka turned away, rolling his eyes slightly and Raidou watched him go. As the teacher pulled out of earshot, Raidou let out a sigh. "Don't follow him, Kakashi."

For a moment there was silence. Then the white-haired man appeared in a displacement of air. "I'm not letting him go to that hell-hole alone."

Raidou looked at him evenly. "He doesn't need you right now, don't follow him."

The masked man crossed him arms. "He won't even notice me. He hasn't yet."

"That's not the point, is it, numbskull? Gods, you still haven't even figured it out, have you?"

Kakashi's head tilted to the side, visible eye widening. "Figured what out?"

Raidou shook his head, turning and walking away from the other man. "Honestly, you're supposed to be a genius."

Kakashi followed only a second behind the man, forgetting his stalking of the young teacher. "Figured what out?"

Raidou glanced over his shoulder. "What do you care? You're just going to follow him around until you find out what you want to know, right?"

Kakashi sped his pace so he was beside the other. "You think I shouldn't," he muttered, no trace of question in his tone. "All right then, why don't I buy you lunch and you can tell me what you think I _should_ do." The scarred man raised an eyebrow but kept his silence, turning immediately into a small resturaunt. Kakashi glanced over the menu as he followed and smothered a groan at the prices. Although, it looked delicious, he'd have to take Iruka here if he managed to get back on the teacher's good side.

Raidou sat in one of the comfortable plush chairs surrounding the various tables, quickly calling a waitress over and ordering a half-dozen small deserts. At Kakashi's stare, the man just smiled. "This place has decent main courses, but it has the best cakes and pastries in the whole of Fire Country, let alone Konoha." Kakashi nodded slightly, ordering a small desert himself. As the waitress scurried away, Raidou leveled his gaze at the other man again. "So, why _are_ you stalking Iruka-kun?"

Kakashi reached up, idly scratching the back of his head. The movement was very deliberate, displaying the uneasiness he would have normally kept hidden away. "I got some remarkably good advice and now I need to watch him. Figure out what to do."

Raidou shook his head, his expression pure disdain. "Kakashi, let me ask you a few things before I tell you about him." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, waiting. "When was your first date?"

Which left Kakashi blinking in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer."

"All right. First date? I think I was ten, I couldn't get out of it and had a fairly miserable time. I didn't even like the girl."

Raidou nodded, smiling widely as their food arrived. Popping a small cake into his mouth, he muttered his next question. "Who did you have your first crush on?"

Kakashi stared, silent for a moment before finally opening his mouth. "I was twelve, and it was a boy. You don't need to know his name."

The answer made Raidou frown, but he didn't comment. "Last question, then. Have you ever been in love? Not counting Iruka, I mean."

"Why does everyone assume I'm in love with him? Am I really that obvious?"

Raidou chukled, munching on more sugar-coated sweets. "Yes, now answer."

Kakashi shook his head, thinking the question over. "That one's harder than you might think. Love, after all, is different for everyone. And it's possible to love different people in completely different ways. 'I love you' is just words anymore without any real meaning to it most of the time." He paused, sighing and staring down at the cake in front of him. "The short answer is yes, I think I've been in love before. A couple times, and now with him."

For several minutes, the two sat in silence, Kakashi staring at his dessert while Raidou nibbled at his. After a long while, Raidou set his fork aside. "Do you know when Iruka's first crush was?" Kakashi looked up at him, drawn out of his thoughts and intesly interested once more. "It was Mizuki, back when he was twelve. Beyond that, I only know of one, and after that he seemed to give up on the whole thing."

Kakashi felt his eyes dropping again. He knew very little about Iruka's past, especially that far back. He'd known it would be bad.

"As for a date, I'm fairly certain his first was about four months ago, with you."

Kakashi's eyes snapped up, wide and disbeleiving. He could feel his lips part as if he were about to speak, but he had no idea what his mouth had intended to say. He'd been Iruka's first date? _Ever_?

"He hasn't decided if he loves you yet, but I know for a fact he hasn't admitted love before."

Kakashi's mouth worked uselessly for another moment before he was able to even think of something to say. "His first date? All this time I've been treating him like he knew what he was doing . . ."

"You've had a normal experience with the romantic side of all this. Even without that, you have those god-awful books." Raidou was studiously avoiding the man's eyes. "All Iruka has is you."

"He could have said something, asked-"

"You kow he never would. Whatever his reasons, Iruka doesn't know how to react to something this . . . good. But he won't do anything to endanger it, if he can. He's stuck somewhere between kissing you and slugging you and you don't make it any easier by treating him how you would anyone else."

Kakashi shook his head mieserably, covering his visible eye with one hand. "I really have screwed up, haven't I? If I'd kown he hadn't had _any_ experience, I would have done so many things different . . ." He dropped his head into both hands, raking his fingers through his hair and trying desperately to figure things out.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Iruka took a deep breath as he looked at the imposing building before him. Standing beside the gate was Hana Inuzuka, glaring at anything that entered her field of vision. Iruka approached slowly, offering the feral woman a hesitant smile. "Hana-san?"

"What are you doing here?" She barked at him, glaring at the scroll in his hands.

Iruka didn't flinch, holding out he parchment. "Why aren't you at your clinic, Hana-san?"

One strong manacured hand snatched at the scroll, neraly clawing into Iruka's flesh. "Clinic's closed on Sundays except for emergencies. So _I_ have to devote my time to _this_ god awful place because Konoha's still short handed!" Iruka was honestly shocked that the scroll didn't tear as Hana pulled it open. Her scowl slowly faded as she read the instructions, replaced by something more akin to pity. "But at least I don't have to do this."

Iruka nodded, taking back the scroll. "Being promoted has at least a few drawbacks. I have to admit I didn't think of this one specifically, though."

Hana just nodded, leading him inside. "Guards are in charge of controlling the prisoners and stopping riots and the like. You've got the harder job of making sure the conditions here are habitable and the inmates are being treated well. It's not easy, from what I've heard, but just shout if you need a guard, all right?" The woman finished by handing Iruka a clipboard and holding out her other hand. "I will need to take your pouch, though. Too easy for them to get a hold of."

Iruka nodded, relinquishing the weapons pouch and looking into the prisin with a sort of dread. "Thanks Hana-san, but I should be all right." With a last look at her, Iruka set off down the long hallways.

Iruka stared at the clipboard as he walked. Several papers were already attached, detailing the things he was supposed to look for, including the safety and integrity of the cells themselves and, most important, the health of the prisoners. The main reason that jounin were selected for this job was because they were removed. Most that got this job assigned to them never or rarely worked as guards, which was all well and good because those that often worked as guards became desensitized to the prisoners themselves. It was simply overload; after a certain point they just didn't care about what happened to them anymore.

Not that being a 'new face' made it any easier for the inspector. The very first cell Iruka approached heralded cat calls and leers. Fujin and Raijin, not much later, required the sacrifice of several ration bars he'd brought specifically for that purpose. While he was looking over prisoner number eighteen, a slim hand slipped through the bars of prisoner's nineteen's cell, firmly stroking his butt. Iruka gave a little yelp, jumping away from all the cells and staring at the offending man with huge eyes. He felt his cheeks begin to burn as laughter floated up all around him; there was little wonder guards burned out so fast in this place.

Forcing his heart to slow, Iruka turned back to the cells, glaring between the prisoners and his clipboard. There were only about one hundred prisoners, a few more, so Iruka had anticipated it only taking a couple of hours. But with gropes and jeers and more than one unexpected projectile (not all of them solid, much to the man's dismay) he was now looking at an entire day spent here. He was seriously considering going back to Raidou and taking up the man's offer, and he wasn't even half done.

Mizuki was prisoner ninety-nine.

Itsuo was prisoner one hundred three.

A guard caught up with Iruka mid-thirties, offering a friendly face and leading him away for some lunch. The teacher took the break gratefully. Every cell he looked at brought him closer to those higher numbers, any delay was welcome. Over the small table and meager meal, the guard smiled at Iruka. "You surviving out there?"

Iruka nodded slightly. "Yeah. In the end you just have to remember that when the sun goes down you get to go home but they all have to stay here."

"Very zen of you." The guard shook his head. "Doesn't really help that much, though. They have it out for the inspectors, and you haven't even met the fakers yet."

One of Iruka's eyebrows quirked up almost on its own will. "Do I even want to know?"

The chunin shook his head. "You're the only chance most of these people will ever have to get out of here. And the only way you would do that is if they were rotting away. Trust me, more than one will lie to you, or try to convince you in other ways. Threats, bribes. My names Aki, by the way. I _am_ keeping an eye on you. Promise."

Iruka felt his lips pulling into a smile. "Thanks." _But the one I'm worried about won't try anything you're thinking of_. The meal was finished quickly and Iruka bowed to the older man before going back out to the long halls. He was honestly grateful for the warning Aki had given him. Not a half hour after he left, he was surprised by a man passed out on the floor of his cell. When Aki came running, unlocking the door to check on him, he'd sprung up, attacking both men eagerly. Only to have Aki slam the bars shut in his face. With a quiet 'told ya' he left and Iruka continued along.

The next prisoner to give him trouble was sixty-seven. At first the cell looked empty. Looking closer meant putting himself in potential grope/projectile/touching range, but an empty cell could mean something much worse. Getting closer, Iruka saw the prisoner huddled at the end of the bed. Curious, Iruka moved even closer to get a better view. The prisoner looked out nervously and Iruka's eyes widened as he found himself looking at a young girl with messy black hair. Iruka had his hands half through the jutsus to unlock the door before his mind caught up. With a sigh, he turned to move along. "If you have the energy to disguise yourself, you're fine." Behind him the prisoner dropped the jutsu, reverting to the muscled man he actualy was.

As he approached a hundred, Iruka's stomach was beginning to cramp. Staring into the cell of a well muscled – and fluently cursing – shinobi that had been convicted of murder, Iruka heard the voice he'd been dreading. "Well if it isn't little 'Ruka." The pen nearly snapped in his hand. Iruka firmly ignored the gentle words, focusing on the cells he still had to inspect. The pale man leaned further out between his bars. "They've promoted you. However will the children survive their loss?"

Iruka closed his eyes and took a deep breath, centering himself. As he opened his eyes again he moved to Mizuki's cell. "I'm still at the academy."

The man's eyebrows raised a bit. "Is that so? Then they've started having chunin do the inspections?"

Iruka tried to focus on the bars, the bed, not looking at Mizuki himself. "I have been promoted. I still teach at the academy. You and Itsuo can't do anything-"

"Ah yes, Itsuo. He does tell the most interesting stories about you, 'Ruka."

Iruka could actually hear the clipboard crack in his hand. Slowly he forced his eyes to focus on Mizuki's form, checking the man for injuries or signs of abuse. As much as he hated the man, he was at high risk since his bauched escape. The frail man before him now couldn't do anything to hurt him physicaly, but those eyes still conjured up deep buried memories Iruka would have rather forgotten.

He missed the movement, he was so distracted with trying to focus. Suddenly Mizuki's hand was wrapped around one wrist, a leer on his face. "I never thought I'd be able to see the famous Iruka again."

It took every ounce of Iruka's control not to transport himself from the prison right then. The pale man had spoken loudly and Iruka knew dozens of eyes were now focused on him. He hadn't thought of what rumors may have been floating around this place, what stories had come along with Itsuo. Quietly, the teacher growled at Mizuki. "Unhand me now or I will break every bone in your arm and _noone_ would condemn me for it."

Mizuki's smile grew and he pulled away, moving to his cot. "Such fire. Don't you remember, Iruka? Nothing good happens if you fight."

Just the words sent shivers up Iruka's spine and he scurried from the cell as quickly as he could. He was almost through this. That bastard couldn't do anything from in there except talk, Iruka knew that regardless of how his pulse was racing.

"So you're the famous Iruka?" The teacher looked up at a man's voice, surprised to see the prisoner also at the bars, leering at him. "I've heard quite a bit about you."

Iruka could feel the clipboard starting to slip from suddenly numb hands. The man was looking at him like an animal looked at its dinner. The whole jail had to know . . .

"If I were out of here, I could give you a good time. You like it rough, right?"

Every one knew about it, and not all of them would be in here for the rest of their lives. Every prisoner. And every guard. A small club slammed into the bars without warning, silencing the prisoner and shocking Iruka back to the present. Aki was scowling at the man angrily. "You really want to lose your privilages, don't you Keisuke?"

The man glared back at the guard. "Please, you know what he's like-"

Aki slammed his weapon into the bars again, silencing the man. "Keep your mouth shut, Keisuke. And you, too!" He growled towards Mizuki's cell where the man could be heard laughing rather hysterically. "Sorry about that. You all right to finish up the last few? You could go home if you wanted, you wouldn't be the first to skip a few cells."

Iruka still couldn't feel his hands. It was a miracle he hadn't dropped the clipboard yet. It was pointless to even try writing his notes now, but Iruka had to finish. He stared at the cell in front of him, commiting the scene to memory to write down later. He moved on, all but ignoring Aki when the man didn't leave his side, repeating the memorisation until something else brought him to a stop.

"What happened to him?"

Aki hesitated before he started speaking with a sigh. "Itsuo's at the bottom of the pecking order, so to speak. His strength isn't fighting, it's information, and while he builds up his little network of blackmail and espionage . . . well it's only expected he's going to make a few enemies."

The man was asleep on his cot, turned towards the wall. He had several visible bruises, and Iruka was sure the uniform hid others. He was thin, too, thiner than four months in prison should have made him. "He's hurt. He should be removed from the general populace."

Aki just waved him off. "He's fine. He _is_ building a power base of his own and once he knows everyone's secrets no one will touch him. In the mean time, just being associated with Mizuki protects him a lot. Don't waste your sympathy on him, he doesn't deserve it."

Iruka turned away, ignoring the last few cells and heading towards the exit. "It's my job to protect them."

Aki followed closely, ushering Iruka into the small office they'd had lunch in and guiding him to a chair. "Sensei, I'm telling you to forget him. The last two inspectors haven't done anything; he deserves what he's getting." Aki brushed a hand across the back of Iruka's neck and the jounin shivered. "You should hear what he says about you."

Iruka's eyes snapped to the guard's face. For a long minute, Iruka couldn't move, frozen by the look in the man's eyes. Slowly Aki sighed and pulled away. "Sorry. He's pretty convincing; just thought I'd give it a shot."

Iruka shuddered again, curling in on himself somewhat. His voice was shaking slightly when he spoke. "He has a grudge, I'm sure. We've never really gotten along, and then I'm the one that got him sent here . . ."

"Go home, Iruka." The teacher looked at him, stunned. "Noone finishes their reports right after the inspections. Most people don't finish them the same day even." He squeezed the teacher's shoulder, urging him onto his feet again. "Go home and forget about this place."

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 23 -o-o-o-

(Two weeks after Kiba and Shino find out about Iruka's nightime reputation.)

Hinata stretched, rubbing her shoulders to work out the sore muscles. It was nearing midnight and she'd just finished her evening exercises. After the workout she was looking forward to a steamy bath and a good night's rest. She could even sleep in the next morning because there were no classes! Already thinking of the hot water washing over her body, Hinata reached for the door of her room, sliding it open.

The person on the other side of the door jerked back, surprised as her target disappeared before she could even knock once. It was an older woman, a servant that often worked nights around the Hyuga complex. For a long moment, she and Hinata blinked at each other in silence before the older woman finally found her voice. "Hinata-sama. I'm sorry to disturb you so late. Someone is asking for you at the front gate, I thought I'd see if you were still awake before sending them away."

Hinata continued her stunned blinking. Who could possibly be calling on her at this late hour. "Who is it? Is it something important?"

The servant offered a quick bow. "Aburame Shino-sama. He said it was an important school matter, or I would have sent him away immediately."

Hinata frowned, trying to think what could be so important to warrant such a visit. There weren't any projects going on, no special assignments or field trips over the weekend. Hinata was honestly surprised Shino even knew who she was. "I should see what this is about. Thank you." The young Hyuga heir ducked back into her room, grabbing a yukata to slide on over her training outfit and hurried to the door.

The boy she saw waiting for her was not the Aburame Shino she was used to seeing. He still looked the same, from his tall collar to the dark glasses despite the late hour. However, instead of standing quietly, observing everything around him, this boy was fidgeting, glancing back out the door repeatedly and holding his fingers right up to his face every few minutes. It wasn't until she was almost beside him that Hinata saw he was whispering to the miniscule bugs crawling along his hands. "Ano . . . Shino-san?"

The bug user looked up, no change in his visible expression. Hinata could sense his eyes shift behind her, looking at the servant still shadowing the hallway. "Hinata-san, I'm sorry to disturb you so late. Iruka-sensei has announced a special assignment, but it's only tonight. I thought you would benefit from it." Hinata frowned, wrinkling her forehead. Shino had never noticed her in class, why would he think of her for a special assignment? She wasn't particularly gifted in many things . . . unless he needed her eyes for something . . . Hinata opened her mouth to refuse, but Shino took a half-step closer to her, speaking quickly and softly. "Please, Hinata-san. Tonight may be your only chance."

For another moment, the girl hesitated. Then she finally looked back at the servant, offering a deep bow to the woman. "I'm sure father will understand, since it is for school. I'll be home as soon as I can."

The woman took a step forward, frowning deeply herself. "You should have an escort this late at night, even if it is something to do with the academy."

Shino stepped quickly forward, placing himself between the two females. "I can act as escort. The Aburame family would never let anything happen to a Hyuga under our watch." The boy bowed, keeping his eyes on the woman, and after a moment she relaxed, nodding at the children. Quickly Shino took Hinata's hand, guiding her out the door.

They were on the rooftops in seconds and Shino paused, looking at Hinata intensly. "Hinata-san, thank you for coming. I couldn't explain anything in front of that woman. There may be a problem."

Hinata's eyes widened. Immediately she began toying with the long strands of her hair. "What is the matter, Shino-san? Has something happened within your family?"

Shino shook his head slightly. "I believe Iruka-sensei is in trouble. Kiba-kun thinks so, too. But neither of us can tell exactly what's going on. Hinata-san, we desperately need your talent if we want to know anything." He paused, waiting as Hinata nodded unsurely. "If you help us, I can't garauntee what you're going to see. It could be very bad."

"I . . . I will help Iruka-sensei if I can. What-"

"My kikaichu are keeping me informed right now. We need to go to his apartment and watch him. Hinata . . . thank you for helping us." The Hyuga girl nodded, following as Shino leapt across rooftops at a swift pace. The two stopped on a roof across from Iruka's building and Shino quickly pointed out which window belonged to the teacher. "My kikaichu will let us know when-No, wait!"

Hinata already had the seal formed, activating the Byakugan and peering through the walls as if they weren't there. What she saw made her blood run cold. Iruka was bent over his dresser, blindfolded and making a face as if he were in pain. There was a large man thrusting into him from behind, apparently taking next to no interest in the man he was using. After a moment, the man balled up his fist, slamming it into the back of Iruka's head suddenly. The teacher's head jerked forward, connecting with the wall hard enough to dent the plaster as the man behind him tensed up, freezing in his motions.

Hinata dropped the jutsu, screaming and falling to the ground behind her. She had her eyes clenched shut, both fists pressed against her forehead and she continued to scream, muffled now by a solid hand over her mouth. Shino had his other hand around the girl's shoulders and he was making calming noises, but his eyes were fixed on the building across the way. It was another few minutes before the teacher's window slid open, a large man leaping down to the street and running off quickly. Hinata was mostly calm now, though she was shaking rather badly, and Shino finally looked down at her. "Hinata-san, I'm sorry. I tried to stop you-"

"Iruka-sensei . . . Iruka-sensei is . . . How could he! How could that man . . !"

"Hinata-san, please. I'm so sorry. Please, I need you to watch him now. I need to know what Iruka-sensei is doing now."

The girl was shaking her head, but slowly her hands formed the seal for her Byakugan. Struggling to control her voice, she narrated as Iruka slowly stood from where he'd collapsed on the floor, dressed, and went into his bathroom. She was tempted to look away when he began filling the tub, but couldn't deny a certain morbid curiosity as he climbed in, fully clothed. It was more than an hour before Iruka collapsed into bed, surrounded by the smell of bleach and cleaner. Hinata's voice was all but gone, ragged from the narration and the barely contained sobs. Shino thanked her again, somberly leading her back to her house and the girl walked straight to her room, collapsing into bed without even changing into her nightclothes.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Neji was in the yard, training, when Hinata finally woke up the next morning. She waited on the porch until the older boy was done hurling his weapons at various targets and turned to acknowledge her presence. Hinata stepped onto the grass slowly, approaching her cousin as if it took every once of her control and then some. "Ni-sama, I need your help."

The boy was gruff, turning his back on the girl. "What do you want?"

"There's . . . there's a problem . . . with Iruka-sensei." Her voice trailed off, almost disappearing as she finished her sentence. Neji froze at the words, turning back around to look at her slowly. "He's being . . . being . . ."

Neji was suddenly moving, long fingers wrapping painfully around the small girl's wrist. "How do you know about that?" he growled, scant inches from her face.

The girl's breath caught. "Sh-shino-"

Neji was moving again, not waiting to hear the rest of her explanation. He rushed from the compound, dragging her behind, following the streets to the Aburame house. Pounding on the door, he was surprised when Shino answered himself. Behind his glasses, the boy's eyebrows raised. "Neji-san?"

Neji didn't wait for a formal invitation. He pushed past the bug user, barely pausing enough to kick off his shoes before stepping into the house proper. Kiba was there, too, staring at the older boy as if he'd gone completely insane. Neji ignored the wild boy, speaking directly to Shino. "Who else knows about Iruka?"

Shino's head snapped to look at Hinata before focusing on Neji again. "Only us. We asked Hinata-san to find out what was actually going on so that we could know who to go to-"

"You can't go to anyone!" Neji cried, shocking the Aburame heir into silence.

Kiba was not so easily quieted and growled at the older boy. "What the hell do you mean we can't go to anyone? Iruka-sensei is in trouble! He's being hurt! We have to get someone to-"

Neji spun on the other boy. "He doesn't want anyone to know!" For a minute there was silence. Then Neji finally looked away, glaring at the wall. "I've been watching him for more than a year. Iruka-sensei doesn't want anyone to know about this. He even demands it of these . . . _people_." He said the word with such hate, the others were practically burned by its venom. "If Iruka finds out that even we know . . . I don't know what he'd do."

"So you're suggesting we just sit by and do nothing while our own teacher is raped?!" Kiba howled at the boy, slamming his fist into the wall angrily.

Neji's gaze dropped further. "I'm saying there's nothing more we _can_ do. Believe me, I want to help him, but . . ."

Shino was also glaring at the floor. "But if we aren't careful, we'll cause more damage. We can't move until we have a stronger ally."

Kiba looked helplessly between the two boys. "Then we're just going to ignore this? We're just going to pretend it isn't happening?" Neither gave an answer.

It was Hinata that finally broke the silence. "We-we'll have to keep watching him. M-make sure he is-isn't hurt. If we c-can't help, w-we can at least keep him s-safe." For another long minute no one made a sound. "R-right?"

Neji finally nodded. Shino's eyes fell further, but he nodded as well. "We watch him. And if there ever is an opportunity to help, we do all that we can."

-o-o-o-o-o-

**A / N:** Have I ever mentioned that I don't like writing people that stutter? Why do you have to be such a pain in the butt, Hinata-chan? Stupid flashbacks, she doesn't stutter as much now, but back then, and in a situation like this . . . oh well, it's my own fault, ne? Some more history on Iruka, too, and of course more Kakashi torture. The prison idea came to me as a great way to have a confrontation with Mizuki in this story, I think it came out rather well! Remind me never to be sent to prison. (shudders) So R & R, tell me what you think. Otherwise I'll see you all on Friday!


	9. Age 25 Saviors

**Author: **Lily Kalanoa

**Story: **Building Destruction

**Genre: **Naruto – angst / romance

**Rating: **M / R

**Warnings: **A very dark story. Involves rape / Non consensual sex. Child (young person) abuse and blackmail. Yaoi.

**Pairings: **Various. Iruka / Kakashi

**Spoilers: **Some spoilers for episodes 143-147. Also major spoilers for my story "Reputation".

**Author Notes: **In the story arc where Mizuki comes back and faces Iruka, I got the feeling that there was a lot more to their relationship than was explored during the episodes. If you didn't feel the same way, reading this story will probably make you watch those episodes in a whole new way. In general there are very few spoilers throughout, but I'm serious about those warnings. This is a VERY DARK FIC with adult themes and fairly graphic sexual scenes. This is also the companion piece to "Reputation" and will make considerably more sense if you read that one first. If you read this, decide you like it, then go read "Reputation", this also contains spoilers for that story, though both can be read independently. Having said all that, I do hope you like it. Please review.

**A / N 2: **I got a new laptop! It confuses me (it has windows vista and some things are very different) and it made me significantly more in debt. Sigh. But my current laptop is slowly dying and having great fun deciding to shut off with no warning, occasionaly losing me my information. Ugh. Anyway, this is the conclusion of Building Reputation. Thanks for sticking with me through it all, I really hope you liked it. I thank you all, my wonderful wonderful reviewers. Ha, KAT's review made me laugh, well, at least about Kiba-kun. It's true he's a blabbermouth, but Neji and Shino are kinda freaky, they can keep those two in line. And I scared Reily – no no, I may be an angst whore, but I go out of my way to make sure the endings are fairly happy. You have no idea how many stories I've read that are angst upon angst, but well done, then I get to the end and nothing gets resolved. I just look at them and go "the fck?" and immediately delete it if it made it to my favs list. Ne, ne, alana, go look at ch6 for Neji's discovery, its brief, so I understand how you forgot. (other things in that chapter were far more interesting) And no, considering that three of the four are from two of the most prestigious and up tight families, I doubt the kids would trust their parents much. (And like I said, Kiba would get beat up by the others if he told anyone else) Enough talking – on to the conclusion and the long anticipated Genma scene. Please enjoy.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

Kakashi had spent the day with Raidou, training. By now the sun was starting to creep towards the tree line and Kakashi kept glancing at it to check the time. Iruka was bound to be done by now, but Raidou had convinced him not to run off to see him right away. Slowly he bent, gathering the kunai he'd thrown at his opponent so they could start another round. A glint of silver caught his eye and he lifted a small spike into the air. "Hmm, this one's not one of mine."

Raidou looked up at the senbon the masked ninja was holding up. His lips twitched into a frown as he raised his gaze to the trees surrounding them. "News?" he asked even before Genma dropped to the ground.

The man shrugged, taking the small weapon from Kakashi. "He's done."

"Ah, so it's all right for you to follow him, but not me?"

Genma raised an eyebrow at him. "_You_ would have charged out of the shadows the moment Mizuki grabbed his wrist."

Kakashi looked offended for a moment before his eye turned up in a little smile. "Probably true."

Genma turned towards Raidou. "I'm going to go 'run into' him and make sure he's all right. Wanna meet up with us in, say, an hour?"

The scarred man nodded, glaring at Kakashi with a 'you'd better not run off before then' look. "We'll meet up with you for an early dinner."

With that, Genma popped into nonexistence, jutsu carrying him away to find the teacher. Iruka was walking along the street in a sort of daze; he hardly looked up when Genma called out his name. With sudden worry, the older man rushed over to him, struggling to offer him a smiling face. "How'd it go?"

Iruka shivered slightly and Genma's smiled wavered. "I was stupid to think it would end."

"What? No! Iruka, it is over. Just because you had to go see that bastard again-"

"It's not, Genma. Every guard that passes through that place is going to know everything. The whole village will know eventually," his voice was fading and Iruka leaned towards Genma's chest suddenly.

Shocked, the older man caught him by the shoulders, pulling him tightly into a hug. He quickly summoned a shadow clone and sent it ahead to Kakashi and Raidou to tell them about this sudden change in plans. Carefully, he guided Iruka the same direction, still trying to calm him. "It's all right, Iruka. You can talk to Tsunade and you won't ever have to do this again. Even if you don't want to do that, it'll be months before you have to go back there again."

Iruka buried his face in the other's chest, allowing himself to be led without any resistance. "It's not just seeing them. I've tried so hard to forget, to just pretend it never happened. But it's never going to be over-"

"You can't just ignore it, Iruka. No, it's not going to go away, but you can move past it, it doesn't have to affect you anymore. Raidou and me are here to help you. Kakashi-"

"I don't want to lose him."

Genma was instantly silent at the sudden change of topic. It was an effort just to keep moving as he muttered a quiet 'what?'

They'd nearly reached the little training ground and Iruka was actually crying now, Genma could feel the wetness soaking through his shirt. "I really screwed up with him. I can't lose him."

Genma stroked the teacher's hair quietly, stopping before they were in sight of the others. He looked up in time to see the two men coming towards them and shook his head quickly to keep them away. "Iruka, you're not going to lose Kakashi-"

"He wants to help and I just keep pushing him away," the teacher sobbed. "Seeing Mizuki again . . . I can't lose him."

Genma tightened his hold, eyes still drilling into Kakashi several yards away. "I swear you're not going to lose him, Iruka. He knows-"

"But he doesn't! He treats me like I'm fragile, like I'm some weakling! I can't stand it, but then I think about breaking up with him . . ." Iruka was crying in earnest now, shaking in his friend's arms. "I love him."

Genma had just enough time to register the complete shock in Kakashi's eye before he looked down at the bundle in his arms.

"He makes me completely furious and I can hardly stand being around him. He barley thinks of me as a ninja, but . . . I want to be with him, even when he does all that. I really do love that bastard, Genma. I can't lose him, but I can't stay with him like this."

The older man reversed his steps, leading Iruka away quickly. His words of comfort completely failed him, dying somewhere between his brain and his mouth. All he could do was glance back at Kakashi, praying the masked man could think of something to do.

The only thing keeping Kakashi where he was were Raidou's arms braced against his shoulders. A thin trail of tears was streaking into his mask as he watched his lover be led away from them and his voice was choked when he finally managed to speak. "How can I fix this?"

Raidou just shook his head. "I-I don't know. I never thought the jail would affect him this badly-"

"Tell me what to do! Raidou, please, tell me how to help him."

The scarred man was silent, still shaking his head. "I don't know. You know him, Kakashi, far better than I do. I only know what Genma's found out through his various contacts. This . . . I don't know what to do, but I know you can't go to him without a plan!" The last was added as Kakashi twisted out of the hold, taking several steps towards the retreating men.

Carefully he stopped, fighting every urge that told him to follow them. "Follow Genma. Tell him to take Iruka home and then leave."

Raidou frowned deeply. "What are you going to do?"

Kakashi rubbed at his face with one hand, forcing himself back into control. "I'm going to prove to him that he's not alone. I think I finally know what he needs."

The man leapt into the trees, racing towards the center of Konoha at blinding speed. Raidou watched him for a moment before following his own boyfriend. "I hope you're right, Kakashi. Iruka can't take much more of this."

-o-o-o-o-o-

It was more than an hour before Kakashi finally reached Iruka's apartment. He balanced carefully on the windowsill, making sure Iruka was there and alone before entering. The teacher was sitting on the edge of his bed, back to the window and hunched over slightly. As Kakashi slid the window open, he suddenly stiffened, sitting straight without turning around.

One hand flew to Iruka's face, wiping across his cheeks in a way that was supposed to be overlooked. Kakashi frowned at the movement and stepped inside properly. Iruka stood, turning to look at him with eyes that were slightly puffy, ever so slightly red around the edges. The teacher was an expert at hiding the physical effects of misery and pain; he must have been crying this whole time for it to be so visible. Then again, he always did have trouble disguising his eyes. "What are you doing here, Kakashi?"

"Are you all right?"

The teacher's chakra flared, another bad sign. No, he was not all right. "Please, Kakashi. You can't be here right now."

The silver haired man reached up idly, removing mask and hitai-ate in one motion. "Iru-chan, I came here to talk. I _need_ to be here." Iruka honestly didn't see the man move. One moment he was there beside the window, the next he had the teacher pinned to the wall, one hand pinning his right, the other tightly across his mouth. "And you need to listen to me."

Iruka reacted on instinct, striking out with his free hand. He didn't even make contact. Kakashi pulled out of reach for a split second, returning to the same position before Iruka could do anything to try and escape. _His eye_ he realized distantly, trying again to free himself with equally miserable results. _Nothing he does has no meaning, he's actually using the sharingan!_ Iruka grabbed at Kakashi's wrist, trying to at least dislodge his hand so he could speak. Kakashi didn't avoid the move, but he didn't yield to it, either.

The taller man leaned close, using his weight to reinforce his grip. "Listening means holding still, Iru-chan." Iruka's eyes were wide, no effort at all made to hide his shock. And fear, Kakashi very deliberately avoided that emotion, focusing on his words instead. He had to do this right. "You think I treat you like you're weak. You want to be treated like an equal. I can understand that. You're scared of me and what I might do if you don't simply accept everything I screw up. I can understand that, too. Because in the end, I know you're wrong."

Iruka didn't stop his struggling. Quickly he shifted, biting into the tender flesh between Kakashi's thumb and first finger. The other grunted in pain and Iruka could taste blood along with the leather, but Kakashi didn't move. "What I can't understand is how you expect me to figure things out if you aren't going to tell me anything! I don't want to hurt you, Iru-chan, and I'm guessing you don't want to hurt me. If you would just open your mouth and tell me what to do, we could have figured this all out months ago!"

_If you'd let me go, I have a whole list of things I want to tell you, bastard . . ._

"So I finally did figure it out, I think. I have a compromise." Iruka's eyes were starting to burn with anger. "I'll do my best to treat you like an equal _without_ hurting you. In exchange, you have to start trusting me and treat me like you really do love me."

Iruka went suddenly still, his eyes widening even further. For a moment, Kakashi was silent before he leaned forward, resting their foreheads together. "I love you, Iruka. Deeply. And I mean those words with all my heart and soul. Just the phrase carries no real weight anymore, it's as common as hello. But the emotion is still special. Words are pointless, but from this day forward I swear to _show_ you just how much I do love you." He paused again and chuckled. "There is one word, though, that is rather important right now. Say 'apple' and I'll stop, no matter what, all right?"

His mouth still covered, Iruka let his eyes talk, screaming at the jounin pinning him. _What in the hell is that supposed to mean?!_

And then Kakashi bit him.

Iruka yelped despite himself, groaning as the other suckled at his neck. The hand over his mouth disappeared, fingernails dragging down his chest. Iruka gasped at the sensation. "Bastard. You think you can say all that and then just-"

Kakashi pulled away and spun, all but throwing Iruka around. The teacher gave another undignified yelp as he was suddenly sitting, back forced up against the footboard of his bed. Kakashi was all but giggling. "Yes, actually. I think I can." He stretched, forcing Iruka's hand towards one side of the slab of wood.

The teacher gasped as that hand was held immobile; he hadn't even noticed Kakashi tying the thin rope around his wrist. He tugged against the bond, but wasn't surprised to find it solid. "Damnit, Kakashi, I'm still mad at you!" The focus of his anger was busy stripping him of his vest and shirt, both left to dangle on his trapped arm.

Kakashi smirked, quite entertained with the way Iruka was thrashing about. The man was fighting, not just submitting, and _that_ was a very good sign. He twisted again, wrapping more rope around the teacher's free wrist and attaching that, too, to the footboard. He left enough slack that when he tugged, Iruka could _almost_ reach Kakashi, if he was clever about it. Then he went on to other fun things, like licking the man's chest thoroughly while his hands teased Iruka to fullness.

The teacher was still growling, muttering a few choice curses at his captor. "Let me go, Kakashi. Stop!"

The silver haired man leaned up, nibbling at one of his captive's earlobes. "That's not your safeword, Iru-chan." The teacher's eyes widened again, but Kakashi was already moving, pulling his pants down to where they tangled around his sandals. He quickly lowered his head, thrilled to hear his prisoner yelp and moan as he began licking at his member eagerly. Iruka was whimpering in no time, pulling uselessly at his hands to reach his tormentor. Kakashi thought the man would pass out when he swallowed him whole and started to hum.

Iruka was nearly there when Kakashi pulled back and he let out a loud curse, straining towards the man. The jounin just leaned forward again, carefully _not_ touching their bodies together. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Don't do this, Kakashi. Please-"

Kakashi reached down, fingers ghosting along the now straining erection to prod at Iruka's entrance. "Do you really want me to stop?" The teacher's eyes were screwed shut, teeth clenched in an effort not to cry out. "You're quite beautiful when you make that face, you know." Kakashi leaned closer, clasping their lips tightly together as Iruka made a noise of surprise.

Kakashi didn't release his mouth as he pushed a finger into him. A moment's searching and he found the man's prostrate, massaging it gently. Iruka screamed into his mouth, hips jerking at the sensation. His blood felt as if it were on fire, coursing through him in a raging torrent. And Kakashi didn't stop, one finger giving way to two, then three. Iruka all but sobbed when he removed his hand, positioning to thrust into him.

Finally Kakashi pulled back to breathe. He hesitated a moment, watching Iruka's lips closely, and then pushed into the other man. The teacher's hands pulled at the ropes and his head snapped forward. He wasn't even bothering with real words anymore, just moaning as Kakashi tweaked his nipples and traced barely there patterns along his back and stomach.

It wasn't long before Iruka came, hard. Kakashi barely had time to reach up, cushioning Iruka's head as he threw it back in ecstasy. Feeling the teacher tense around him sent Kakashi over the edge as well and he hardly felt the pain in his newly crushed fingers. His vision went momentarily white and he slumped against his lover, not moving for close to a minute. When he could finally move again, Kakashi stretched out his arms, undoing both knots at the same time.

Iruka's arms were limp, falling to the floor as if he had no control of them at all. Carefully, Kakashi gathered the man into his arms, lifting him onto the bed and curling around him from behind. Iruka stayed motionless, still panting slightly. "You didn't stop," he whispered.

He could feel Kakashi tense slightly, his arms tightening around his chest. "I gave you a safeword. You didn't use it."

Iruka sighed, nuzzling against the man's arm. "I didn't want to. But I'm surprised you didn't stop anyway."

Kakashi's body relaxed and he began tracing patterns on the teacher's chest. "I probably would have, a day or two ago. I was only trying to do the right thing, it honestly never occurred to me that you might _like_ rough sex every now and then."

Iruka gave a small laugh. "You're telling me you had no doubts this time? That you came here with the intention of forcing yourself on me and you were just hoping I'd be okay with that?"

"Come on, Iru-chan. You could have undone those knots in your sleep. And once I'd actually said all that stuff I had to say, I almost completely dropped my guard. If you'd wanted to stop me, it wouldn't have been that difficult. Hell, I left your legs completely free, one sharp kick and I'd've been down for hours."

His hands were trailing along Iruka's back now, tracing the scars he'd memorized without even looking at them. After a moment, Iruka let out another sigh, curling into himself slightly. "I got that a few months before you came to me. It was intentional and carefully done so that I could hide it."

Kakashi blinked, confused a minute before he realized Iruka was giving the history of the scar he was tracing. It was one of the first things Kakashi had asked about – his scars – but Iruka had always refused to tell him anything. Stunned, he let his hand trace over to another scar on his side.

Iruka wiggled a little at the touch, but spoke almost immediately. "That one almost killed me. It was from the first person Itsuo ever brought to the game. It was also the last time I ever really fought back." Kakashi's fingers moved on to a small cluster of jagged scars and Iruka laughed a little. "Those almost killed me, too, but it was a mission. Poison needles, if I remember."

"Iruka, you don't have to tell me this. I don't want to force you-"

"It's okay, Ka-kun. I _do_ trust you, and I . . . I do love you . . ."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

Iruka twisted in the man's arms so they were looking at each other. "I want you to treat me like an equal, it's only fair I do the same. I've never told anyone all of my past, but . . ." he stopped and twisted to bury his head in Kakashi's chest. "I want to tell you," he muttered, voice muffled by the odd position. "I want someone to know . . . if it's you."

Kakashi began stroking his lover's hair. "You know, I learned a lot about you today from my little talk with Raidou. Apparently Genma took it really badly when I told him what was really going on. He's spent most of his free time these past months learning everything he can about you. I suppose that's something I should have been doing, eh?"

Iruka sighed, burrowing further into the other's chest. "The both of them do a lot for me. They help me set up for classes even when they aren't staying. They're there for me if I ever need anything."

"Something I should be doing," Kakashi repeated, continuing his stroking of the man's hair. "Was I really your first date?"

For a moment there was silence and then Iruka pulled away slightly, looking into Kakashi's mismatched eyes. "Did Raidou tell you that?"

"I really screwed up my timeline with you, Iru-chan. I had thought you'd grown up fairly normally, not getting dragged into this until you were at least chunin. But it started a lot sooner, didn't it?"

Iruka's eyes slowly fell, staring at Kakashi's lips. "Right after I graduated the academy. I've been out to parties and formal occasions with people, but it's not really the same . . . I didn't want to date anyone, I was to afraid of what would happen if they found out . . ." Kakashi leaned forward, lightly kissing the brunette's forehead, just below his hitai-ate. The teacher's lips twitched, the barest smile pulling them up. "You surprised me that day. You keep surprising me."

"Try and get some sleep, Iru-chan. I still want to talk, but it can wait for morning. You've had a hard few days."

Iruka chuckled, plastering himself to Kakashi's body and closing his eyes. "I should have thought of it before . . . how much of my weekend do you know about, anyway? How closely have you been following since I kicked you out?"

Kakashi didn't answer. Gently, he prodded chakra through his fingers, stroking the teacher on a deeper level now. It wasn't long before Iruka's breathing evened out, his hands going limp against Kakashi's chest. The silver haired man wrapped his arms around the teacher, holding him close before setting his internal clock and drifting to sleep himself.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

(One month before the events in Reputation)

Iruka bit his lip, looking up at his window from the street below. It was open, the drapes blowing in the wind. The teacher shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself in a motion that had nothing to do with the slight cold. Determinedly he climbed the stairs, unlocking his apartment door and slipping inside.

What he saw wasn't anything like he expected. The window, of course, was open and the chill blowing through had lowered the room's temperature severely. There was nothing out of place that he could see, with one obvious exception. Lying on his couch was Shiranui Genma. What really made Iruka pause was that the man's bandanna and vest had been thrown haphazardly over his other chair and the jounin's ever-present senbon had fallen from his mouth and now glinted on the carpet. He was fast asleep.

Iruka seriously considered leaving, finding some excuse to spend the night at the academy or in the woods. Some obstacle course for his children, maybe. Slowly and very deliberately, he turned back towards his front door, shutting it and locking it securely. He slid off his sandals and vest, leaving them beside the door as he often did when he came home late. Then he floated towards the man in his living room.

Genma opened his eyes as Iruka hovered over him. The teacher knew he'd been woken by his presence some time earlier, maybe even before he'd opened his door, but the man waited to reveal that until Iruka was almost directly over him. One side of his mouth twitched up in a smirk, but he still didn't move.

Iruka stopped where he was, staring down at the jounin for a moment before speaking. "Hard day?" he asked, tension in his voice.

Genma shifted, sitting upright but slouched over his knees. "A little. I was hoping you might make it a little better." Iruka shivered, taking a step back without realizing. Genma slowly stood, reaching forward and tangling one hand in the teacher's shirt. He pulled him forward against surprisingly little resistance. "I heard it was an open invitation . . . was I misinformed?"

Iruka's head dropped, but he didn't deny it. The jounin stepped closer, forcing Iruka to back up or fall. After a moment they met with a wall and Genma pressed against the teacher firmly. One hand drifted between the two of them, toying with Iruka gently. "Is it all right if we use your bed, or is that too . . . normal?" He twisted and Iruka's world view fell on its side. Strong arms caught him before he hit the ground, startling him more than the fall. And then Genma was carrying him through the doorway, depositing him on his bed in seconds.

Iruka's mind was reeling at the strange treatment as Genma made quick work of stripping them both. His hitai-ate was sent across the room with the rest of the articles and Iruka could feel his chest tighten slightly with fear. He blinked as the taller man spun, head to feet with the teacher. Iruka's eyes clenched shut, knowing what he was expected to do, and made no move.

He couldn't help but gasp as one hand wrapped around him, teasing, and his breath washed over Genma warmly. The jounin arched, his tip brushing Iruka's lips in the motion. When he engulfed the teacher, Iruka fell into the rhythm, reciprocating without thinking about it. He was struggling to think as little as possible at the moment.

Genma worked the teacher into a slight frenzy before he pulled away. Iruka whimpered slightly, and the vibration made the jounin gasp, cold air rushing from his mouth over Iruka's member and causing yet more whimpers. Genma pulled away suddenly, almost violently, spinning again over the teacher. One hand held his shoulder, thumb dipping into the hollow of his neck, digging into the delicate skin. Iruka flushed at the hold, more than a bit of nervousness coloring his cheeks as much as the lust washing over him. With his other hand, the larger jounin slipped between Iruka's legs, pushing into him gently.

He was bigger than Iruka expected, painful despite the preparation. The teacher arched at the initial intrusion as well as the pleasure it faded into. Every move dug Genma's thumb into his throat, almost but not quite choking him and more than enough to keep him mostly still. It wasn't until Genma wrapped one hand around him again that Iruka arched enough to dislodge the other's hand. He twisted, helpless as his body approached the peak and tumbled over. He hovered in semi darkness for a while, Genma moving in him until he reached his own completion. Then Genma was by his side, one arm thrown lazily across his chest and their legs tangled together.

The chunin turned his head away, staring at the wall, unable to look at the man beside him. Genma let out a happy sigh after a minute. "I suppose I should go. Those are the rules, right?" Iruka nodded slightly and Genma shifted, rolling out of bed. Carefully he walked around the bed and knelt to separate their clothing. He stood again a minute later, handing Iruka his hitai-ate and dropping the teacher's other clothes into his hamper. Then he was beside the bed again, leaning down to the teacher that had yet to move. "Thank you, 'Ruka. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Iruka finally looked up, meeting his eyes hesitantly. After a slight pause, his mouth opened. "Please don't call me that."

Genma nodded, smiling around the senbon that had reappeared between his lips. "Sorry. I'll see you later, Iruka. Sleep well." And he was gone, leaping out the window without even pulling on more than his pants and sandals.

-o-o-o- Iruka, age 25 -o-o-o-

(present storyline)

Iruka woke to cold nothingness. Startled, he looked around for Kakashi, but he wasn't there. After everything that had happened the night before, Iruka couldn't imagine the other jounin just leaving. He climbed out of bed slowly, moving to his dresser to find a clean uniform for the day. The teacher jumped when the alarm went off behind him and quickly stalked over to it, throwing the machine across the room grumpily. He blinked, deflating as he stared at the small device on the floor. He doubted even Kakashi could fix the damage he'd done to it this time. Sighing, he dressed and wandered to the kitchen, pouring a bowl of cereal in lieu of the effort cooking something would take.

Iruka was surprisingly unfazed when his door opened not long after. He glanced over his shoulder to see Kakashi slink inside. He could practically see the sheepish smile beneath the man's mask. "Where did you go?" he asked around a spoon of sugary puffs.

Kakashi reached up, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. Iruka squinted, certain he could see a bit of blush over the top edge of his mask. "I, uh, may have done something really stupid. I'm not sure yet."

Iruka put his spoon back in the bowl and carefully set it aside, out of the danger zone. "What, exactly, did you do?" he asked slowly, in his best teacher's voice.

"Now, Iru-chan, don't get over excited. Remember you have class in just over an hour and pummeling me would make you late." Iruka's bad feeling was growing worse by the second. "You see, I've been spending almost every night over here for over four months now."

The masked man paused and Iruka knew it was just to irk him. "And?" he prompted, irritated.

"Well, it seemed silly to be paying rent on an apartment I was hardly ever at."

Iruka's eyes widened as he realized what the man was saying. "What? Kakashi, what about all your things!"

"Well, Naruto's out of town with Jiraiya and I figured he'd volunteer to help me anyway, so . . ."

"But – but, what about this weekend? Where were you spending the night?"

"Uh, camping?" The teacher's eyes widened even more and his face flushed dangerously. "Ah, see, I knew you'd be mad."

"Mad? Of course I'm mad! Kakashi, you don't spend _every_ night here and Naruto only left this weekend! Where have you been staying? Your things!"

"It's all right, Iru-chan, it's not all that bad."

Iruka was in a fairly decent rage at this point, shouting at the man before him. "It is that bad, Kakashi! This place isn't big enough for both of our things! You should have told me-"

"And you would have insisted I spend my nights here and things would have gotten even more screwed up these last couple days. I don't mind camping every once in a while, and Naruto only yelled a little about storing my things. I'd already moved everything over there so he didn't have much choice, actually . . ."

Iruka could feel his strength fading and he sat heavily. "Kakashi – I –"

"You don't have to worry about this place being too small, either, I never intended to move in here."

"But where will you live?" the teacher asked helplessly.

"I've been looking at a place, actually." Iruka's eyebrows perked up, curious despite himself. "It's almost twice this size, a three-bedroom. It's in the complex just north of here. Now, by myself I can't make the monthly payments and still have enough money to live on. But three months of rent was enough to put in the down payment."

Iruka blinked for several moments, staring at the shinobi in front of him. Finally the words penetrated his brain and he frowned. "Down payment? Wait, you don't mean-"

"I want you to know I had this planned for a while, it's not just 'cause you got mad at me. So," his eyebrow lifted in a somehow pleading way, "are you still mad at me?" Iruka stood, crossing to his lover slowly. The taller man raised his hands. "Now, Iru-chan, remember your schedule."

The teacher pounced, forcing Kakashi back against the counter so that he bent over it backwards. He kissed the trapped man through his mask before pulling back just enough to remove the cloth, staring intently into his eye. "My kids could stand to learn some patience and character. You'll have to help me think of an excuse later." He returned to ravishing the man's mouth, hands roaming all over his body.

Kakashi twisted, clearing the counter quickly and allowed himself to be pushed further back. He returned the other man's caresses, eagerly slipping hands under his shirt. He wondered just how Iruka would react when he found out Kakashi had already arranged a substitute for at least part of the day. He fervently prayed he would react much like this . . .

-o-o-o-owari-o-o-o-

**A / N:** Thank you all so much for reading my story through. Special thanks to those of you who read Reputation as well. I severely hope I have succeeded in entertaining you. This _is_ the end, I know, there are still a few loose ends. But things in life don't work out perfect, they just work out. There will be no more of this series specifically, but I am interested in writing other stories in this universe. If I ever get around to it, it'll be referred to as 'the Reputation universe' for those that may be interested. No plans as of yet, but keep an eye out. See you all later!


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